Dear Friend and colleague                

You are cordially invited to play your part in fighting the curse of underachievement by the Pakistani origin pupils in High Wycombe.

In this day and age, with the shrinking economy, it has become even more important for all children (our future) to be properly equipped with educational tools so that they do not fall behind in securing training, further education and well paid jobs in the future.

Unfortunately, we seem to be sleep walking and have not yet realised that our children are underachieving at school, by about 25%, when comparing the GCSE passes at grades A* to C in five subjects including Maths and English. The 2011 results are a little better but the gap between the Pakistani origin and mainstream pupils remains unchanged, whilst there is also a big difference in the results of boys and girls; the boys in particular are in need of motivation and role models.

The MPA has been concerned for some time about underachievement and has been instrumental in getting the (Bucks) Education Authority to discuss the reasons for this state of affairs and whilst there are certain things the education authority, schools and teachers can do to improve this situation (such as having high expectations of all children and providing supplementary assistance to borderline pupils), the MPA believes that the parents and children and other members of the Pakistani origin community can also play their part in reducing this chasm.

To this end the MPA has had a couple of very positive meetings this year which gave us a chance to hear the views of our young professionals as well as the ordinary members of the community about the issue of underachievement.

The MPA knows that it needs to liaise with all the Stakeholders in High Wycombe and we need the help of the people who can see the problem and have something to offer to make a difference.

To this end the next meeting focusing on motivation and role models is taking place on Sunday, 9 October 2011 at Cressex Community School at 10.45AM for a 11AM start; the meeting will finish at 1PM. It is hoped that we will also learn from all of you about your own experiences and ideas about combating educational underachievement.

It is no secret that we need to mobilise our community as almost all the interested statutory authorities feel that the Muslim/Pakistani community needs to take advantage of the opportunities for improvement in all spheres especially in the filed of education. More importantly they are prepared to help us in our work as much as they can. It is incumbent upon us therefore, to ‘cease the initiative’ and make a difference. Please do not take my words as being trite and without any meaning. I really feel we can make a difference by working together and look forward to your cooperation. 

Please let me know if you cannot make the meeting for any reason and whether you are prepared to assist the MPA in this area of its work programme.

I should also be grateful if you would kindly forward the contents of this email to one or two other friends.

Rafiq Raja  
30.09.2011
WWW.MPAWYCOMBE.CO.UK