Out of school, out of sight

UK urban state schools have recently experienced increased pressure to improve their performance levels. This has been manifested through various campaigns to change the public perception of these schools while making improvements to the physical school environment. However, punitive policies on ‘problematic' pupils also appear to be increasingly used to sustain this image. Consequently, many are unofficially ‘excluded' and referred to off-site educational provision (OSEP) where they receive reduced timetables and unchallenging courses, and this reduces their chances of gaining a solid education. Based on ethnographic fieldwork with 20 excluded young people in one south London borough in the UK, this book will discuss these issues in greater detail. The book shows how exclusionary processes, to which some urban young people are exposed, have implications for their identity, self worth and lifestyles, and makes them increasingly vulnerable to crime and victimisation. Moreover, their life options become truncated despite efforts they may make otherwise.