UK NEWS
ENGLISH NOT THE FIRST LANGUAGE FOR 1 IN 8 PUPILS
At least 830,000 pupils in England do not speak English
By Tom Whitehead, Home Affairs Correspondent
ENGLISH is not the first language for a record number of the country’s pupils thanks to Labour’s open door on immigration.
At least 830,000 pupils in England do not speak the native tongue as their first language – more than one in eight.
English is now in the minority at primary schools in one out of 10 local education areas, according to figures revealed yesterday.
In four areas, at least two-thirds of children speak English as an additional language.
Ministers were last night warned that the soaring numbers have huge implications for already-stretched school
resources and could affect the education of other pupils.
Unions say educating a single non-English speaking pupil can cost up to £30,000 a year and extra cash is needed as the situation runs “out of control”.
But Schools minister Jim Knight last night appeared to suggest the problem was with teachers who do not speak the children’s language rather than vice-versa.
Shadow immigration minister Damian Green said: “The Government has failed to follow our policy of taking into account the impact of immigration on public services.
“Such incompetence is now putting real pressure on schools and other public services.”
As of January, there were 470,080 children in primary schools who do not speak English as their first language, according to figures from the Department for Children, Schools and Families.
That is 14.4 per cent of the total, which is up from 13.5 per cent last year and almost double the 7.8 per cent when Labour came to power in 1997.
In 15 of the 150 local education authorities, more than half of primary pupils have English as a second language – including 77 per cent in Tower Hamlets and 72.6 per cent in Newham, both in London. The only area outside the capital with more than half is Slough with 51.8 per cent.
The number of secondary school pupils who have English as a second language has risen to 354,300 – about 10.8 per cent, up from 7.3 per cent in 1997.
Mr Knight said: “Undoubtedly there can be problems where we don’t have a workforce that has the native language that the children speak at home.
“They have to become skilled fairly quickly in that language sufficient to be able to teach the children well.
“We find that migrant children are now doing well in English schools.
“The gap in achievement between them and English-speaking pupils has narrowed significantly in recent years.
“Funding and support for children with English as an additional language has more than kept pace with their increased numbers.”
English is now the minority language in one in 17 schools.
It is estimated that 20,000 foreign youngsters are joining schools in England every year.
And the Daily Express revealed in January that the number of new pupils who cannot speak English has soared 50 per cent in two years.
Some schools have had to use pupils as young as five to act as classroom interpreters. Ministers even suggest that teachers should give foreign pupils small signs to show if they are thirsty, sick or need the toilet.
It emerged last year that there are 100 languages now being spoken in Suffolk schools.
Handford Hall Primary School, in Ipswich. has to deal with 26 languages.
The Government figures released yesterday also show a rise in the proportion of pupils from ethnic minorities.
In primary schools, it increased from 21.9 per cent in 2007 to 23.3 per cent. The number in secondaries rose from 18 per cent to 19.5 per cent.
Video 
COUNCIL HOUSING, CHEAP LABOUR AND CHEAP VOTES
01.05.08, 6:12am
No further need to ask why Westminster loves mass immigration!
More than a million immigrants live in housing subsidised by the taxpayer, a Government-sponsored report disclosed in April 2008.
It said the number of foreigners in council or housing association accommodation had soared over the past five years.
One in nine subsidised homes is now occupied by a migrant family. This figure though does not include those immigrants and asylum seekers that have been given British citizenship status over the recent decades and who are classified as ‘British Citizens’ thereby ensuring they are not included in this total. Estimates of the true numbers of immigrants using Council housing range from 20-30 % of the total numbers of the total council housing stock.
At the same time as our council housing has been handed over to immigrants over one million voters from abroad have been added to the electoral register in only two years following the introduction of the Electoral Administration Act.
New applicants do not have to provide documents proving their identity or even whether they are in the country legally. Instead, they simply fill in a two-page form and declare that the details are correct.
The surge in voter numbers coincides with hundreds of thousands of immigrants coming to Britain from eastern Europe and elsewhere. The use of immigrants for cheap votes in elections is the basis of the Labour government support for mass immigration and also their use as cheap labour into to undercut British workers wages and conditions the basis of the Tories support for mass immigration.
• Posted by: cstevens • Report Comment
SLEIGHT WHIFF OF HYPOCRISY?
01.05.08, 1:07am
Remember This Headline before Brown became the unelected PM....
"Brown’s ‘British day’ Wins Backing – Chancellor Gordon Brown wants to set aside a day for celebrating all things British"
More like the passing of everything British. Since this government came to office they have done everything in their power to destroy the British way of life, I was under the impression that immigrants, asylum seekers (legal or otherwise) were made welcome to create a multi-culture society, adapting to the British way of life, embracing British Culture and with the ability to speak & comprehend the English language, spoken and written. What a load of BS! A Civil Servant told me recently that a vehicle that collided with the rear of his car; contained six immigrants who could not speak a word of English. One of them used his mobile phone for assistance, a car arrived with four more immigrants of which only two could speak English & able to translate. Not only are our roads becoming grid-locked, but in the event of an emergency we are going to need a translator. What an absolute mess Nu-Labour have created for this once great country.
• Posted by: Anonymouse • Report Comment
BLOODY OUTRAGEOUS!
30.04.08, 5:13pm
No wonder our own children are leaving school unable to read or write. These children should never be placed in our schools unless they are fluent in the English language.
What a mess this government has made of everything. It is so sad. One in eight children in our schools are foreign, just goes to show how we are being over run with immigrants.
LABOUR OUT & GB OUT OF THE EU!
• Posted by: Jac16 • Report Comment
YES, MAKE THEM PAY
30.04.08, 11:03am
I agree with Peter_Pan. Just come back from Spain. Education free for children if they speak Spanish otherwise they pay for English schools. Seems fair to me. We have the EU, why is this not implemented in all countries instead of worrying about the shape of bananas. No they want a European police force and army, sounds ominous to me.
• Posted by: beowulf • Report Comment
1 IN 8 !
30.04.08, 10:48am
I find that to be extraordinary.
Who can now deny that Britain is in danger of losing its identity.
• Posted by: marigold • Report Comment
THE JOYS OF MULTI CULTURALISM
30.04.08, 10:06am
The parents of these foreign speaking children should be made to pay for their own English lessons. It is not fair to expect the British taxpayer to stump up to cover the cost. Nor is it fair on British children who are not receiving proper attention at school.
Nothing will be done about this unless we (a) get rid of Labour and (b) get out of the EU.
I rest my case.
• Posted by: Peter_Pan • Report Comment
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