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A Typology of Schools across the Four Nations of the United Kingdom: Class, Race and Geography

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Title: A Typology of Schools across the Four Nations of the United Kingdom: Class, Race and Geography
Language: English
Authors: Sol Gamsu (ORCID 0000-0001-8642-096X), Håkan Forsberg
Source: British Educational Research Journal. 2026 52(1):310-339.
Availability: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 30
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Descriptors: Classification, Foreign Countries, Private Schools, State Schools, Reputation, Institutional Characteristics, Student Diversity, Working Class, Middle Class, College Students, School Segregation, Social Class, Race, Geographic Regions, Rural Areas, Suburbs, White Students
Geographic Terms: United Kingdom, United Kingdom (England), United Kingdom (Scotland), United Kingdom (Edinburgh), United Kingdom (Wales), United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)
DOI: 10.1002/berj.70006
ISSN: 0141-1926
1469-3518
Abstract: In this paper we analyse the hierarchical field of schools across the United Kingdom during the transition to university and suggest that there are five socially distinct clusters of schools. Our five-cluster typology of UK schools is composed of an established group of elite private and state schools, schools for the white rural and suburban middle class, schools serving the (post-)industrial and predominantly white working class in small towns, multi-racial middle and working-class schools and super-diverse state schools of the precarious working class. To produce this typology, we used Higher Education Statistics Authority data to create aggregate pseudo-school populations from university students who would have been in their final year of school or college between 2014/15 and 2017/18. Unlike previous analyses of UK school segregation that focus on Free School Meals, we use actual parental social class data to enable more granular analysis of class and occupation. We use principal components analysis, followed by clustering techniques, to examine how institutional inequalities between schools intersect with uneven geographies of class and race across the United Kingdom. We suggest that there are more complex hierarchies that move beyond historical binary perspectives on schooling as selective/comprehensive, private/state, working/middle class. Our findings suggest two major contributions to how we understand inequalities and hierarchies between schools. First, we find a more complex, geographically varied and socially and ethnically distinctive "multipartite" system of schooling across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Second, viewed from a geographical perspective, our findings suggest there is a "spatial division of schooling" across the United Kingdom. Our typology combines an institutional lens on the school system with a geographical understanding of how local geographies of race and class shape schools and colleges in ways that transcend as well as reinforce national or regional boundaries.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1499047
Database: ERIC
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  Data: A Typology of Schools across the Four Nations of the United Kingdom: Class, Race and Geography
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sol+Gamsu%22">Sol Gamsu</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8642-096X">0000-0001-8642-096X</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Håkan+Forsberg%22">Håkan Forsberg</searchLink>
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  Data: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Classification%22">Classification</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Private+Schools%22">Private Schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22State+Schools%22">State Schools</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Reputation%22">Reputation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Institutional+Characteristics%22">Institutional Characteristics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student+Diversity%22">Student Diversity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Working+Class%22">Working Class</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Middle+Class%22">Middle Class</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22College+Students%22">College Students</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22School+Segregation%22">School Segregation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+Class%22">Social Class</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Race%22">Race</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Geographic+Regions%22">Geographic Regions</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Rural+Areas%22">Rural Areas</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Suburbs%22">Suburbs</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22White+Students%22">White Students</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22United+Kingdom%22">United Kingdom</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22United+Kingdom+%28England%29%22">United Kingdom (England)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22United+Kingdom+%28Scotland%29%22">United Kingdom (Scotland)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22United+Kingdom+%28Edinburgh%29%22">United Kingdom (Edinburgh)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22United+Kingdom+%28Wales%29%22">United Kingdom (Wales)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22United+Kingdom+%28Northern+Ireland%29%22">United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)</searchLink>
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  Data: 10.1002/berj.70006
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  Data: In this paper we analyse the hierarchical field of schools across the United Kingdom during the transition to university and suggest that there are five socially distinct clusters of schools. Our five-cluster typology of UK schools is composed of an established group of elite private and state schools, schools for the white rural and suburban middle class, schools serving the (post-)industrial and predominantly white working class in small towns, multi-racial middle and working-class schools and super-diverse state schools of the precarious working class. To produce this typology, we used Higher Education Statistics Authority data to create aggregate pseudo-school populations from university students who would have been in their final year of school or college between 2014/15 and 2017/18. Unlike previous analyses of UK school segregation that focus on Free School Meals, we use actual parental social class data to enable more granular analysis of class and occupation. We use principal components analysis, followed by clustering techniques, to examine how institutional inequalities between schools intersect with uneven geographies of class and race across the United Kingdom. We suggest that there are more complex hierarchies that move beyond historical binary perspectives on schooling as selective/comprehensive, private/state, working/middle class. Our findings suggest two major contributions to how we understand inequalities and hierarchies between schools. First, we find a more complex, geographically varied and socially and ethnically distinctive "multipartite" system of schooling across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Second, viewed from a geographical perspective, our findings suggest there is a "spatial division of schooling" across the United Kingdom. Our typology combines an institutional lens on the school system with a geographical understanding of how local geographies of race and class shape schools and colleges in ways that transcend as well as reinforce national or regional boundaries.
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        Value: 10.1002/berj.70006
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      – Text: English
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        PageCount: 30
        StartPage: 310
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Classification
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Private Schools
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: State Schools
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      – SubjectFull: Reputation
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      – SubjectFull: Institutional Characteristics
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      – SubjectFull: Student Diversity
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Working Class
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      – SubjectFull: Middle Class
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      – SubjectFull: College Students
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: School Segregation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Social Class
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      – SubjectFull: Race
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      – SubjectFull: Geographic Regions
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      – SubjectFull: Rural Areas
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      – SubjectFull: Suburbs
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      – SubjectFull: White Students
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      – SubjectFull: United Kingdom
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      – SubjectFull: United Kingdom (Edinburgh)
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      – SubjectFull: United Kingdom (Wales)
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      – SubjectFull: United Kingdom (Northern Ireland)
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