Bottom of the Class: Children’s Stories of Low Attainment in Primary School

This book offers a much-needed look at the impact of our attainment-driven education system on those children considered ‘low attainers’. It reveals how difficult they find it to feel good about themselves, their capacity to learn and their futures.

This book offers a much-needed look at the impact of our attainment-driven education system on those children considered ‘low attainers’. It reveals how difficult they find it to feel good about themselves, their capacity to learn and their futures, as well as shedding light on the role schools are playing in maintaining inequality and the illusion of meritocracy.

At the heart of Bottom of the Class are the engaging and thought-provoking stories of four children whom the author followed through three years of primary school. Concerned with friendships, getting ‘told off’ and struggling with schoolwork, they are in some ways very ordinary. Yet, caught between competing messages about who they ‘ought’ to be and their fears of failure, they are also extraordinary, showing impressive courage, creativity and integrity in the way they navigate their paths through school.

By bringing the voices of ‘low attainers’ into the centre of the debate around low attainment, this crucially important book is a must-read for anyone interested in educational inequality and school experience within education studies, policy studies, the sociology of education, initial teacher training and educational leadership.

UK Delivery:

• Free delivery on all orders of £10 or more.
• £1.49 delivery fee on orders below £10.
• UK orders are shipped via Royal Mail 2nd Class.

International Delivery:

• Flat rate delivery charges vary by country.

Dispatch and Delivery Times:

• All orders are shipped from our warehouse in Northampton, UK within 48 hours of receipt during working hours.
• UK mainland orders typically arrive within 3-5 working days via Royal Mail 2nd Class.
• International estimated delivery times:
• Europe & Channel Islands: 7 to 10 working days
• USA: 7 to 15 working days
• Rest of the World: 9 to 21 working days

View our full delivery infomation here.