It's a really tough experience growing up in a sink estate which is isolated socially and physically (in my case, but a stinking great dual carriageway) from the rest of the town, city and indeed country. You almost feel like you're not expected to achieve, like trying at school is some kind of statement that you're better than the rest of your mates. My school year yielded just 2 people with 5 good GCSEs or more (this was 1989) and 3 professional footballers. I've grown quite fond of that statistic in an odd way. The school has been knocked down now, thankfully.

I remember saying that I wanted to be a teacher, and therefore do A levels. My friends' parents, not just my classmates, would take the pi55. As though i was deluded. Our school didn;t offer a 6th form and further education seemed a world away. When you're young, these things matter and there's hardly anyone to tell you that what you're experiencing is not what you'll get everywhere else - teenagers will vwey readily think the world is against them when it isn't. I remember one of my teachers telling me to stay realistic and not get my hopes up. Can you beleive that!?! It's very hard for kids in that situation - and it breaks more that it makes.

My mum, and also the people I met through Scouting were the only factors that provided any kind of inspiration and evidence that it was ok to think differently. Mum provided the ideas and the will, but Scouting (which led to getting on the hills ) provided the evidence.

Schools can only do so much, but non school peer groups such as Scouting, sport etc, even origami if it works are a vital ingredient to help kids step out of the all too frequent pattern of lack of encouragement, delinquency and then onto far worse in some cases

Reading those articles make my heart sink. Kids , esp those in the toughest areas or family circumstances, need to achieve from as early as possible, not just at school or at football. FInd that achivement outlet and you've got a chance. The government have put most of their eggs in teh '5 GCSEs' basket and then aimed low. It's horrible.