We understand that Education is a fundamental element in the development of our youth. It provides grounding, a sense of direction and assists with their general understanding of the world in which they live.

We support the National Education system, whilst at the same time recognising that like any system it suffers from certain limitations specifically affecting the development of children of African & Caribbean descent.

In March 2006 in a statement released by the DfES, the Minister for Education stated that the proportion of Black Caribbean, Black African, Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Chinese pupils achieving 5 or more A* to C grades at GCSE and equivalent in 2005 had improved by more than 3 percentage points in each group. However the statement does not reflect the disparities in levels of achievement by Black African and Black Caribbeans boys and girls in comparison to other Black minority groups, in particular Chinese, Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities. According to 2005 DFES figures, 21.2% of Black Caribbean boys who sat for GCSEs, 29.7% of Black African boys, 32.5% of Black Caribbean girls and 39.8% of Black African girls passed with the requisite 5 A*- C grades. It is noticeable that at key stage 1 (i.e. age 5 - 7 years old), Black Caribbean and Black African boys score equally attaining 75% achievement at level 2 or more. At Key Stage 2 (i.e. age 7 - 11),Black African boys scored 60% and Black Caribbean boys scored 59% , while Black African and Black Caribbean girls equally scored 63%  The trend thus shows that there is a distinct tailing off of achievement in the education system as Black children proceed through the education system.

Moreover, Black children are more likely to be victims of racial prejudice in the education system, as is evidenced by the figures on exclusions. The numbers of permanent exclusions by ethnicity indicates that for every 10,000 pupils permanently excluded from school, 40 in that 10,000 (0.4%) will be of Black Caribbean or Black Other origin. In contrast however in relation to timed exclusions a more disturbing picture is revealed in that, seven out of every hundred pupils from Black or Mixed origins were excluded for a fixed period, that is, 700 per 10,000.This is four times the average of all other pupils.

The patterns of education attainment levels of Black children at secondary school are also being reflected at tertiary education level. 18% of all new undergraduates in 2004/05 are from ethnic minority backgrounds. However, Black undergraduates account for just 3% of this total, of which 2.7% are of Black African origin

The 100 Black Men of London ensures that its programmes support the educational progress of our youth by teaching them the importance of getting a good education and helping them with the skills to ensure they get the most benefit out of the education system.

Additionally, our programmes aim to tackle some of the deficiencies in the National Education system by addressing the under representation of issues of black culture and black history in the general curriculum.

For instance, our Education Through Film programme has not only educated thousands of Londoners about the history of people of African & Caribbean descent, but has also directly led to the incorporation of more black history in the national schools' curriculum;

our Black History Challenge directly targets school pupils giving them the opportunity to learn about the history of peoples of African & Caribbean descent;

through our Schools programme, our mentors directly address school pupils on issues of immediate relevance to their education experience;

our 100 Book Club (Real Black Men Read) encourages young people especially to enjoy the benefits of reading

Celebrated Educationalist, Professor Gus John, is an honorary member.

You can download the latest Black Children's Achievement Programme Evaluation Report to learn more about the experience of Black children within the education system