Survey found opportunities for young people were lacking
Hartcliffe in South Bristol(Image: Tom Wren / SWNS)
People in Bristol have blamed ”a lack of mentors and things to do” – after parts of the city were ranked lowest in England for prospects for working class children.
Kids that grow up on free school meals in one area of the city are the least likely to get a degree compared with every other part of the country, a new study shows.
Other areas there also rank near the bottom of the likelihood youngsters will have a job at 28.
Kids who get free school dinners in south and east Bristol start life with some of the lowest prospects in the country, the shock report by The Sutton Trust said.
Called the ‘The Opportunity Index’ it used data from over 25 years to focus on the prospects for kids.
It found just 4 per cent on free school meals in Bristol South will have a degree by 22 – the lowest in England where data was available.
And Bristol South and Bristol East both feature in the top ten worst results for ‘Opportunity Index Rank’ which combines all the data.
Locals blame a lack of facilities and role models which see kids wander the streets – and forced to turn to knife crime.
Leanne Mitchell(Image: Tom Wren / SWNS)
Leanne Mitchell, 34, a youth mentor from Hartcliffe, said: “I work as a youth manager at the moment and I do work with people that have been excluded from school and support them.
“There isn’t a lot going on around here, that’s why it’s so bad. There isn’t anywhere for them to go. There’s a lot of criminal and antisocial behaviour.
“I’ve got two young children myself, I’ve got an 11 and a 14 year old. Luckily one of them plays football and he’s busy with that and my other daughter is just in because there isn’t much to do.
“I think a lot of times it’s because they’re not aware. If the parents aren’t aware of their opportunities and unable to support them and guide them in terms of what they could do with their education, there is no one else helping them with that.
“There needs to be more people in between helping and supporting young people.
“But as much as there is negativity around it, there have been a lot more people trying to help so it just needs to be better.
Hartcliffe in South Bristol(Image: Tom Wren / SWNS)
“A lot of them finish secondary school and then that’s it, they’re done. Unless you’ve got someone who can lead by example. And a lot of them didn’t even go to school anyway.
“There is not much opportunity. There needs to be more people putting the work in here.
“For a lot of young people they need someone to look up to, they need a positive role model in their life.
”But it’s hard because how do you make a positive role model if you’re stuck in a cycle of not making it. What else can be there? Leaders make leaders.”
Tim Fryer(Image: Tom Wren / SWNS)
Tim Fryer, 59, from Hartcliffe, works in the nearby B&Q.
He said: “They don’t have anything really. It’s like everything has been taken away from them.
”There’s no youth clubs or anything, they’re just left to wander the streets. And then they just find things to do which aren’t good.
“It’s all boredom. They don’t have anything to do. We moan about children sitting on computer games but then don’t give them anything to do when they go out.
“When I was young it was a case of going out, to the woods, all sorts to do, it made it nice. But what are they going to remember? It’s not right.”
Nick Channing(Image: Tom Wren / SWNS)
Nick Channing, 40, works at Hartcliffe & Withywood Community Partnership as a support worker.
He said: “The report is not surprising. It’s all true. And it’s because they’ve got nothing to do. That’s why there is so much trouble, so much knife crime, drugs, loads of gangs.
“It’s a massive problem. They have just left this area to rot really. It wasn’t like this when I was growing up. There were community centres.
“They need to put some more money into the area. It’s so run-down. It’s one of the most deprived places in Britain I think.”
“I want the Government to come round and have a look at the area and just see how it is.”
Lee Taylor(Image: Tom Wren / SWNS)
Lee Taylor, 47, has lived in Knowle West all his life. He said: “They need some good mentors, that’s what they need.
“The only opportunity kids have around here is selling weed or pinching. All the youth clubs have shut.
“Even though you have got a lot of naughty kids around here, the older generation tarnishes all the kids with the same brush so nobody gets opportunity around here.
“They can say they’ve got job centres and youth schemes or whatever, but where are they then? You go through here at nighttime and see what there is for kids to do there is nothing.
“They need some good mentors up here. If you catch them at the right age and teach them then that’s what needs to happen.”
A local resident in Hartcliffe, 36, said: “I’m not surprised, to be honest. It’s really hard for young people to get ahead around here.
“There’s not much for them. We have no decent youth centres, jobs aren’t really that great, and schools are too busy dealing with bad behaviour.
“We’ve been a bit forgotten I suppose. There’s not much hope for kids around her unless something really changes for them.”
A local resident who works at a community centre in Knowle West, Kate, said: “They tend to get up to no good because there’s not a lot in the local area.
“Sometimes the police are called on them fairly often because they just muck about. It’s just difficult to deal with. How you could change it I don’t know.”
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