Breadline Britain: pawnshops and private schools | Guardian Investigations
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.ย. 2024
- Meet Fran, a single mother from Leeds who is unable to work. When Niamh wins a scholarship to the private school she always dreamed of attending, Fran borrows money for the uniform and pawns nearly all her possessions. What had seemed like an opportunity for Niamh to escape poverty does not quite end like that
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Where is she now??? I want to follow her journey.
ENGLAND'S POOR WORKING PEOPLE' TAXES TAKE CARE OF THE ROYALS BUT,CANT AFFORD TO TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILIES THATS SO SAD AND WRONG
It’s exactly the same in every country. Whether they have royalty or not. The entire world cannot be carried by those few. We are all responsible. Every single person wastes food, wastes water. Not just the royals. Plenty amass wealth. Are the British royals the wealthiest people in England?
tim kat I agree with you. Saw MM in her interview with Oprah. She wore a 4,679 pound dress. A dress which would probably feed a lot of people and worn only one time. I cannot fathom that.
@@sparx180 Meghan is no longer a royal and no longer relys on our taxes so your point is redundant, stop finding ways to dig at her just because she's mixed. The "Queen" has/had a £500million renovation. 500million is alot worse than a measly 4k. Get a grip on reality stop thinking with hate on the forefront of your pea brain and think logically.
@@sparx180 you do know she had her own money before getting with Harry don't you!
@@kellyayre9503 Not much tho.
That young lady is amazing to have gotten in there all on her own.
Beau Burriola her mom should not hv let her quit! She should also hv gotten a job n bought her a lap top/hairbrush... Duh
Sarah Burggraf she did say she couldn't work ATM as she has uncontrollable epalepsy an asthma An she would love to work to be able to get everything she needed xx
@@nicolagriffiths9974she should’ve been on pip
Well done girl!! Go to Oxford, study law, enjoy your life, help your mum that loves you!! Well done!!
tacman1974 She quit
Yeah, she quit because she was made to feel an outsider. Shame on the people who put her through that and for the school not addressing this. School...could have done better?
@@emmawilson2837 Yes I was feeling happy for her until that bit came at the end. One of my nephews went to an 'ordinary'' school and made the grade to Oxford where he left with a 1st class honours degree in mathematics and later achieved his Masters degree. Now earns "silly money" in banking but you couldn't wish to meet a more down to earth guy. Wealth hasn't affected him and he doesn't think he's particularly clever.....just average!
Bankers are the worst industries that cause so much misery for people so they make huge profits for themselves
You mean the same mother that shot her down and laughed at her when she said she wanted to go to the grammar school?
That mother that loves her, you mean?
She should be the poster child for social mobility. Great attitude
Don't you mean social security.
ago wa No, it is social mobility.
Yes, if you want to move up the socio economic ladder, you have to cripple your mother’s financial balance
Why should she be the poster child? There are thousands like her would be unfair
Both mother and child are fantastic advocates for women. Doing everything they can for each other - that's what life should be about. I also loved the way that the mother never forgot where her family came from. This country was born out of the blood sweat and tears of the working class. I am confident that Niamph (pretty name btw) will be successful. I just feel sad that she was ostracized so badly that she felt she had to leave. I hope that winning the bursary will stand her in good stead in the future.
for women? wow!!!
@@nomadcompanywell we can tell you’re sexist
You'll get on whatever school you go too. Very true is that. Great documentary xx
I wonder what's happened to this young woman? She has so much drive, and I hope she goes far. This was a tear jerker.
If I found the right person, it looks like she became a makeup artist.
To watch this and then to find out at the very end that she ended up feeling she had to leave? What a let-down and what a waste of a very clever and hardworking young girl's dreams--and her mum's sacrifices for her. I understand the Guardian is trying to make this little girl a poster child for many others in a similar situation, but it isn't very creditable. If you go to the trouble of making a film about her, at least make the school aware of the problem, maybe help with some peer counselling, have a word with the guidance counsellor. And buy her a damn laptop.
improve the dialect love,
@@stephanblack4558 When you improve your attitude and punctuation.
@@stephanblack4558 you used a comma Instead of a full stop and you didn't use a capital letter.
Really well said
I was really affected by this documentary that gave the family the platform to speak so eloquently. Although it is clear that her daughter is her jewel,this lady has a lot to be proud of.
I hope that the country gets Niamh as a future Prime Minister. Or at least that she stands in Parliament. This country needs a Parliament of equilibrium, intelligence, bravery and understanding comprising more women. There is still much to change.
Terri BerryBoo m
She quite the school though
@@family-peace-loveyes she did quite.
When I was in secondary school I was awarded a scholarship for Wells Cathedral School. Fortunately there was a local community group which would fundraise and give out grants to people in need of certain things, such as if someone needs a new suit to attend job interviews or, like recently, they bought a young girl a violin as she was accepted to a music school but couldn't afford her own violin. They paid for my uniform every year and now I donate money each year to pay for a couple of uniforms for other kids on scholarships. I wouldn't have been able to attend without their help.
I'm a dyslexic failure who managed to get into a private school by sheer luck and personal circumstance....yet so many of my classmates blew away opportunities to achieve good grades by partying, once more the parents hosted these events.
Sk Kay kids that have privileges do not realise what they have .
Niamh is a real credit. Hope she keeps pushing to get on in life xx
"Thats not for the like of us" is the kind of mentality that has destroyed social mobility in this country.
Exactly
It's an automatic barrier having no money !
Her mums heart was obviously in the right place, but I wonder if her continuous highlighting of the social class differences between her daughter and her classmates eventually contributed to her feeling like an outsider.
JoseWhon or maybe more likely it was that evil spoiled stuck up rich kid who made the poor child her personal slave that contributed to her feeling like an outsider? or perhaps it was the fact that she came from a council estate and didn't eat quails eggs and foie gras for breakfast that made her feel excluded. who knows? I think it's disingenuous to imply it was the mothers fault for highlighting the social class differences opposed to the existence of the highly tangible segregated class structure itself that was the problem.
+JoseWhon I agree! If the mother was firmly in her corner cheering her on and letting her know that she is worth every bit of those rich kids, then she would not suffer so much. I had a relentless cheerleader and prayer warrior of a mother, so I know the immense benefit of having a resilient supporter.
JoseWhon yep
Arthur Radford the traditional snobbery of private schools has been driven back is the past half century to places like Elton and many private schools have huge bursary programs such as the Manchester grammar school which now has almost 4 million pounds in their program and almost 45% of students come from poorer backgrounds. It serves to help the poorer people have good educations and help the upper class student to be more down to earth.
@@arthurradford4456 You have a really warped idea of what private school kids are actually like. I was given a scholarship to a private school and kids aren't like that. I was never looked down on and I never witnessed other 'rich' kids acting like they are better than anyone else, no more than in any other school anyway. There are so many scholarship and bursary students at each school, even at schools such as Eton and Harrow. Also, kids don't care about quails eggs or foie gras. The mum was constantly talking about how her daughter was such a lower class than her school peers so that is going to have an impact on Niamh.
Lovely people ! What a lovely mum! No grudges ! Just a good living person 🌹🌷
She is a work shy scrounger though.
She should be putting all her effort into getting a job and stop making excuses about her asthma and epilepsy.
I guess the perceived social class barrier is hindering their chance for social mobility. In Singapore, all our public schools are good schools, so most of us 'commoners' have a pretty good chance of finding success on my own merits, not through a privileged birth. Yes we do have some elite schools for the really smart (and some for the rich), but the disparity is no near what I've seen in the UK.
I think British citizens should force their MPs and Ministers to send their kids to public schools. If the country's leaders do not trust their own education system, what gives them the right to advocate all their great policies and ideas, it would just be a great big bunch of hypocrisies.
Dan C Bring back grammar schools
There still are grammar schools in the UK
+jane lam I agree religious schools seem to do better. I went to a christian school people thought all we did was pray smh. I think the combination of religion has an imbact .
it was at the point she said she would like to get her mum a new home . what a lovely girl
What a shame she had to leave the school! I really hope she got into Oxford, she deserves it 100%. You don't get to see many kids with her attitude towards school :(
Great young lady! I wish her and her mum the very best!
This was so inspiring. A complete mind opener, more people should watch this. What a great mum and what a great child. Bless her. Things need to change, she’s too right.
Lazy you mean
I am so very very proud of these lovely people and wish them the very best for the future.
What has happened to us ? Why can't genuine people like this get the help they deserve ?
It leaves me speechless...............
Because the word deserve implies some form of free will or free choice in ones actions which is scientifically unsound. It doesn't help to say some people deserve "good" things whilst others deserve to suffer when one realises the lack of free will due to the myriad of influences and causes outside of ones control.
FuManBoobs where did he say others should suffer?
I can relate to Fran. I was a single Mum and managed to get one of my daughters into private school. Getting uniforms and books was expensive. I was happy to sacrifice for my daughter. Frans doing her best.
Good for her, she is one of the few kids that I've seen on shows about Britton's youth that has a positive attitude of wanting to learn and get out of where she is now. Hope her Mum keeps seeing the benefit of her daughter making something of herself.
i just wonder what happened to her hopefully she’s well
Love this girl
What a great little girl, well done her. Mum should get more help. Well done both of them.
What a shit end to a nice story, feel sorry for her !
agree, all that effort to just leave. I could tell from the beginning it wasn't going to end well, there's no point people from poor backgrounds going to snobby schools because they will find it difficult to fit in. Answer is for better quality teaching and improving schools in poorer areas
This is a nice way to say she was bullied. I hope she makes it into Oxford she is worth it.
@pim1234, I totally agree with you. I just wanted to hear that she'd completed her education at this school and successfully progressed onto tertiary education. Feel so annoyed for her!
Such a clever girl, i wish her all the best.
What an amazing young girl, so much respect for her. Never give up and keep pushing yourself x
WE NEED AN UPDATE. I pray she made it.
this young lady is amazing, no matter which school she attends she will succeed, she has what it takes wishing her all the very best
this girl is a winner she will succeed against all odds ......
She quit the school
I endured similar when my sons attended a Surrey school, however, they excelled and ended up at Uni, despite having been brought up on council estates. If you have faith and love your children, they will be a credit to you.
she sounds a decent girl, i really hopes she achieves what she wants too!
More than decent this girl gives me hope in humanity
My son, got a 75% scholarship to go to a private school which is the highest award anyone can get at this particular school. However, we still had to find the 25% which was only made possible by a charity. So we were very lucky !
We still also had to get all the different types of uniform, sports kits and sports equipment and we haven't had to pay for the expensive trips that they go on yet due to covid which I'm dreading !
I must say though, my son is getting the most amazing school experiences, has made lots of lovely friends and has access to some of the best teaching staff that I've ever had the pleasure to meet !
It was well worth the worry about financing it all and the borrowing from Peter to pay Paul too.
I was deeply saddened to see that this young lasses experience at grammar school was a negative one and I think the school should of helped more to rectify the bullying she received !
what a fab girl. well done on taking it upon yourself to apply. I hope you have a succesful life. you deserve it babes x
You are an amazing little girl, your determination brought tears to my eyes. Your are an absolute credit to your mum. The mum did her best to the extent she even went to loan sharks and paid back triple of what she borrowed. More fool them lil brat children that made her feel like an outsider, that is just scare tac tics because the young girl was smart. Keep your head held high darling & continue to look after your mum just as she looks after you .
Part of me feels that the.mother is to blame for Niamh not settling.. She kept the division between the classes alive.. It's so sad
+flangela123abc yes maybe/maybe not. i think she is just the type to make it regardless of where she is educated. the mother is just a victim of circumstances etc that can happen in all walks of life. there is a rule for those who have and those who DON,T though. but maybe some of those who went to the grammer school waited until they were better financially prepared etc to have kids. they say theres never a right time to have kids etc, what a load of rubbish. there is a better set of circumstances etc to have them.
Alison Laing
The school is to blame. A full bursary should include uniform, trips possibly even transport. They set her up to fail. It's a disgrace.
@@notknown6605 if the school can’t private full bursary to cover the uniform cover the difference between the costs of an equivalent state school and the private school. So if the costs of transport and uniform for the state school are £300 per year and the private are £1300 the parents pay £300 and the school picks up the rest in a bursary or scholarship.
I love the idea that the girl is always thinking of her Mum. Get her a granny flat and stuff. What a beautiful family.
does the (guardien) not remunerate the people they interview?And why was there no social service follow up ,when the child had problems of adaptation.Are there no associations in leeds? I am shocked ,what budget does the Council control to let this area look so unkempt and desolate .shame on you Cameron what a way to run a country.
She is a very clever girl and her mum is loving with lots of amazing support. I used to work as a teacher and I did my degree in North Wales. Some of the schools I went to for practice were different, one didn't make the children wear school uniform. Her mum had to spend around 1000 pounds on the school uniform. I am upset she had to leave the posh school. I think that the other children should have been kind to her. Every child has feelings. One school I taught in was a village in an expensive area. I lived in a caravan to teach there. In the end I found more local teaching work so I went back to live in my cottage.
This young girl is amazing and so is her mum reminding her to never forget where she came from. Shame it didn't work out at her grammer school, she can do well without going there
Apply as a foreign student in Canada, We would love to have this student.
Just wondering is Canada a part of Britian?
Jackyblue67 Same No north america
Jackyblue67 Same Yes, Canada belongs to the Commonwealth of the united kingdom!
Theresa Baker 1 person tells me no & u say yes so does it really or not?
Jackyblue67 Same Look up Queen Elizabeth II. It's on the north America, but it belongs to the united kingdom. So is New Zealand and Australia. You need to learn your history!
How verry verry sad,I'm sure she will achieve great things though,it's almost a mirror image of my daughter,we moved from a sink council estate in Manchester to Devon,my daughter worked hard and won a place in one of the top five grammars in the country,I must admit we felt slightly intimidated but my daughter went on to gain a degree in bio medicine and a degree in pure medicine,,she has worked hard in London as a doctor,and is now moving back to Devon,to live and work with her family.
Im from Devon and its a great place to be to go to school. Where did you send her to school? Im from Plymouth originally now living in Surrey.
@@gregprouse1173 hi mate,we didn’t send her to colaton grammers she worked hard to achieve a place there,all the best.
What an amazing and inspiring young lady! She figured out how to get into that school all on her own which is amazing. With that determination she will make it out of poverty and into the middle or upper class.
Respect for this girl for doing something about her situation with such determination 👍👍👍💯💯💯🌻
Amazing amazing mother!
Wow. This is one of the most powerful videos I've ever seen.
This beautiful young lady is going to go very far. What a truly wonderful and amazing mum.
sad that she felt left out
tragic
I cannot believe the lovely intelligent girl left the school!! Why didn’t the guardian step in and buy or donate a laptop to her? I’m so upset about he outcome i was so proud of her ambition and determination… 9 years on where is she now?
I would love to know how she’s getting on now ?
I hope she done really well. I would love to know how they are now. They should do a follow up programme. Hope you are both doing well xx
What a lovely girl wanting to look after her mam like that so so nice
Oh my HAT!! What an absolutely outstanding young lady! You can't keep a good man down but you certainly can't a young lady either🎓🎓 she will grow up and be such an example to the girls struggling. Bless you all really amazing to watch.
Heartbreaking
That attitude has nothing to do with being rich or poor, rather a lower middle-class attitude - the sort of attitude one would expect at a low-end fee-paying school like Leeds.
At my first (a public) school, there was a wide range of incomes - often, boys would attend because their family had attended for generations. The school would foot the bill, as, despite having titles and huge houses, the upkeep on the properties meant the boys were always poor. I remember visiting one of my friend's estates in winter - he would sit on one of the hot plates on the Aga, I on the other, as it was the warmest place in the house. There were also lots of children with bursaries, choir or sport scholarships etc who came from low income families. No one was looked down upon, because we all lived and studied together.
Is there an update on these two? It's such a shame she felt like she had to leave. I've always felt like a bit of an outsider. But I dont let that stop me any more. Stuff what others think!
It would be nice to know how shes getting on a few years down the line!
I would like to know too.
Good people rite here I just hope she's doing better in 2016 with her schooling.
And her mam god love her borrowing to get her child through so so good of her
Thank you for your video. Stay positive and healthy, I have asthma, I know exactly what you are going through. Love to you and your beautiful family!.
lovely caring mother.its nice to see
Great mom great daughter never give up
really nice to see that poor lass getting on in life i hope she really does well in life.
So glad she is going to a better school. I know you are proud of her mom. You both are lovely and i adore your hair and beautiful eyes. You will both come out of this in the end.
Not having money and resources sucks
her mother is doing what she can to support her daughter. Hard for her at the moment, but it will pay off it time x
what a shame she left x
Good on you girl for having a good go
Great mom and daughter love them
She deserves this for taking the initiative on her own. She has a great attitude. Surely they school can provide a grant for uniform & travel.
This was 8 years ago… this video just randomly showed up on my feed. I wonder what happened to this family😢
The system is the problem along with the help of the chosen few who think they're above those from 'poorer' areas, this rubbish has been ongoing since state grammar schools were turned into so called comprehensives, it gives our supposed 'lower class' nothing to strive for as they see class after class 'graduating' to then languish on the dole or take up some rubbish minimum wage job and as usual the political class are behind it all. We had a good grammar school in this town with a decent proportion of those leaving going on to universities and into good jobs, all sons and daughters of miners, seamen etc, the jobs were destroyed by the Tories and the place, once proud and hard working, has evolved into a dole wallas paradise because without those educational bits of paper there is no longer any work for the masses, a disgrace for a country which classes itself 'first world'.
This is such a lovely story I know Niamh is going to do great things, her mum should be very proud. ❤
I worked long hard unsociable hours and put my daughter through private school. No regrets when I see the well balanced self motivated young person that she is today.
Thats very short sighted of the school. They should be more aware of the students financial situation and recognise that they may be unlikely to afford the extras and that by not providing these the bursaried students are more likely to drop out and then the money they DO invest is wasted
I sometimes think their system is made this way to try and convince the outside world these schools are inclusive, only for the scholarship students to find out later that they are excluded in other ways. Whether this is a deliberate ploy or just an oversight on the school's part remains to be seen?
Yeh like old boys network
You go girl !xx
Where is the father?
Such a shame she left.
She'll be ok because her attitude shone through.
I feel sorry that she had to leave the school. I wonder what happened to her?
We left England in 1977 to live in the USA. We saw no future for our two grade school children even then. The enormous comprehensive school available to us seemed to produce unruly and ignorant kids. I used to buy clothes for the children from Oxfam. The country was on a 3 day week with miners strikes. I used to apportion out food daily for the week sorting through pennies.
This story is not as uprise, but the whole country seems to have deteriorated so badly. It is heartbreaking to see this struggle. As another writer suggested, professional help is required.
On another note we visited Yorkshire this year. What really shook me was the huge tracts of endowed land and large houses. The inequity of wealth still continues, the class system in the UK I strangling growth and innovation.
Good luck Deborah. You must do as you think best for your family. Our three children did very well in the American education system. They all went to college and chose professions they loved and are successful in their field. I cannot imagine they would have had the opportunities in England that are available here. It is a huge country with many regional differences and choices for work. There is a great can do attitude, but you have to work hard to succeed.
What's key here is where you choose to live and the school system that operates locally. There are many fine public schools with high standards here. sorry you have had such a negative experience in the USA, perhaps you will be happier in Britain.
this is so moving
sadly a poster child for further highlighting the fact that social mobility is an illusion.
You are right. It's really sad,but it's true.
It's not an illusion.
What a great family 6 years on I hope she successful I would gladly donated £500.00 for her
Hope she is a successful lawyer by now!
That's insane! Why would she leave!?
this breaks my heart. no one should have to live like this. there is so much money in the world to go around. this is where capitalism and years of austerity has failed us.
Beautiful. Nothing else
I wonder what has happened since
Thank god we don't have private schools where I live.
I hope some day to refer to Niamh as P.M.. 'Til then it "Winston C. In A Skirt" will have to do; not because of resemblance but sheer tenacity they both share. Good job mom!
She manifested her life and it worked
I didn't know you HAD to do Latin to get into Oxford I'm not going then 😂
You don't. Cambridge is my first choice, but I was considering Oxford. If you have the grades, pass the entrance exam and interview, you're golden.
You could always go to Oxford brookes instead
Study hairdressing at the community college, love
Amo, amas, amat etc. Ad nauseum.
I think because shes in busary she needed it if youve the money you dont have too lol
So so sad her poor mam 😖😖😢
I am so proud of you and hope all your dreams come true.
I get her child is bright, I completely understand all children deserve the same opportunities in life but this was awful. Her poor mum was having to sell everything she had just to buy uniform. She could've just gone to a normal school, study, go to college and once finished go to university.
I went to a normal school, and have nearly finished college and will be applying for courses in university for mental health nursing. You can do it, don’t let money stop you.
@@myoldvhstapes Alright, thank you grammar police! I have dyslexica and although I struggle with it, I passed English with flying colours.
250 pounds costs 1000 pounds? Heresy. Incredible human beings.
It's in Leeds were I live dint think it wo that bad
How are the 2 ladies doing now? I hope much better 🙂
Not sure how you can vote Tory after this, austerity is awful.
As soon as she mentioned loan sharks i wanted to organise a whip round and get her her bus pass or uniform money
So proud of you both.....well done! Follow your dreams!