Pupils in the London borough of Lambeth are doing better despite deprivation and riots. Mark Whitehead reports. There were many sighs of relief as the dust began to settle on the streets of Brixton after the riots last week. Despite the burned and looted shops, the injuries and arrests, the disturbance was on a smaller scale than the running battles of 1981 and 1985. And, despite serious concerns over the number of black people who have died in police custody, those involved in the latest violence were roundly condemned. Things are better now in Brixton, people say.

The more positive atmosphere in the south London suburb may be reflected in a general improvement in the performance of youngsters in the area’s schools. As the latest performance tables show, the number of 16-year-olds in the London borough of Lambeth gaining five or more A-C grades at GCSE has risen from 18.2 per cent three years ago to 23.2 per cent this year, while the proportion of pupils leaving with no qualifications has been halved to 12.2 per cent.

A closer look at the results shows a more mixed picture. But education chiefs believe schools in the borough are on the up.

Charles Edward Brooke Girls’ School, a voluntary-controlled Church of England comprehensive in the north of the borough, has seen 33 per cent of pupils gaining five or more A-C grades this year. This compares with fewer than 18 per cent three years ago, and only 8 per cent in 1991 when Lambeth took over from the abolished Inner London Education Authority. Nearly 75 per cent of the pupils gained one or more A-C grades, compared with 68.8 per cent in 1993 and 52.2 per cent in 1991.

The school is in one of the most deprived wards in the borough, with an intake of children mainly from local council estates - 63 per cent of them on free meals.

Headteacher Jane Cruse points to teamwork, high expectations among staff and targeting of pupils’ needs as factors contributing to the school’s improvedfortunes.

“We are making sure that children who have talents are reaching their potential,” she says. “It’s not just the high-fliers. It’s right across the board. We’ve got it through to all the children that, whatever their abilities, they can achieve something.”

The latest disturbance on the streets of nearby Brixton passed with little discussion in the school, she says. It was business as usual the following day.

Others acknowledge that some of the youngsters were shocked, but say it did not interfere with classwork.

“They are aware that the community sometimes has volatile moments,” says Brooke’s head of technology, Graham Parry. “But they are very positive. They know it’s important to get good exam results. This is a poor area, and they know that getting five GCSEs will give them greater opportunities.”

The borough, one of the country’s most deprived, has benefited from an injection of cash -Pounds 80 million so far - under the City Challenge scheme.

Tony LaMothe, head of Stockwell Park comprehensive, in the centre of the borough, says the Pounds 160,000 his school has received - for new computers and an ambitious scheme to develop stronger links between the school, parents and employers - has helped change the culture among pupils.

“It has helped to put hope back into the system. Some of the children come from homes with grave disadvantages, and where you have an improved environment you have a better sense of being valued. The children appreciate that. It makes it more difficult for them to opt out.”

The school can offer a haven for pupils who come from troubled and deprived homes, he says. “Whatever is happening on the streets, this school is a different environment. For some of them, it’s the only place where they feel a sense of hope and of being involved.”

The local City Challenge project, however, has been criticised for failing to create “real” jobs for local people, a claim denied by its organisers. And with unemployment at 22 per cent in Brixton, the riots are a reminder that discontent is still festering under the surface. The hung council is trying hard to shake its “loony Left” tag, but many of the causes of the earlier protests linger.

The borough says spending cuts have so far had no impact on front-line services, but this year it faces the threat of a Pounds 30m cuts package including Pounds 3.3m in education, deferred last week. Teachers’ leaders fear this could mean the loss of 100 jobs.

A delegation from the council is due to go to the Department for Education and Employment in the new year to plead for extra cash, and will point to the riots as one reason why Lambeth needs special help.

The new drive to raise standards has already seen one school, Dick Sheppard comprehensive, close earlier this last year. Four more schools in the borough are on the Office for Standards in Education’s failing schools list. And in early 1996, Lambeth will be one of two local authorities facing an OFSTED inspection of all its schools.

Bruce Gill, head of Lambeth’s inspectorate and advisory service, says that, like many other inner-city boroughs, his has a high proportion of children with behavioural and emotional needs, many who have been excluded from schools, and many with English as a second language.

“We’re taking a tried-and-tested approach to curriculum delivery, but trying to take into account the actual learning needs of our pupils,” he says. “It’s the essence of good teaching. If our examination results are an indicator, we do seem to be achieving that.

“There were high feelings about the death in police custody and concerns about the relations between the black community and the police. That’s an ongoing issue.

“But none of that detracts from the fact that, within Lambeth, the community as a whole is taking steps to try and improve itself and move towards regeneration. There is a mood for change and development.”