Middle-class pupils do better at school than their working class counterparts because of "intensive parenting" rather than extra ability, according to a recent study carried out in the UK.

The study found the creation of the "able middle-class child" was mainly the result of "work by the mother".

The author, Prof. Stephen Ball of the Institute of Education, cited factors such as hiring private tutors, moving in the "right circles" and training in the correct forms of behaviour to seem bright at school.

This, added to know-how in manipulating the education system, gave the best chance of a high-status university place and a successful career.

According to Prof. Ball, who was quoted by the BBC, "it's who you know and what you do with it.

"Middle-class parents deploy their resources to establish their monopoly over privileged routes through the education system.

"They are doing what their class does in order to continue being what their class is.

"In this new moral arena, education is increasingly like any other commodity and the development of the child is a lucrative market opportunity for capital."

Middle-class parents' tactics are aided by market-orientated education policies which promote competition and choice, Prof Ball argues.

These reflect the social and economic interests of the middle classes at the expense of fairness for all.

Ability grouping in schools, for example, is favoured by middle-class parents as a way of insulating their children from "untoward influences" and by head teachers as a way of attracting high-achieving middle class children, Prof. Ball found.

But this discriminated against children from disadvantaged families and had little educational value.

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