A mocked-up Tube map showing how life can lead from school to prison has been put on underground trains this morning as children made their way to pick up their GCSEs.

They were left on Tube trains by a group of south London students to highlight just how many children are excluded from mainstream education every year and the effect it can have on their lives.

The Education Not Exclusion group chose GCSE results day to highlight the link between being expelled at school and ending up in prison.

‘School to Prison Line’ posters on put up on London Tube on GCSE results day (Picture: Aaamall/Twitter)

The posters appeared on the Northern Line this morning (Picture: Twitter)

The posters, seen on the Northern Line, showed stops in place of the usual Tube stations with names such as ‘sent out of class’, ‘temporary exclusion’, ‘isolation’ and ‘prison’.




As well as the mock Tube line poster there was an explanation poster, which read: ‘Today is GCSE results day. While most pupils across the country are excitedly waiting for news about their future, thousands remain left behind.

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‘Every day, 35 pupils (a full classroom) are permanently excluded from school. Only 1% of them will go on to get the five good GCSEs needed to succeed.

‘It is the most disadvantaged children who are disproportionately punished by the system. We deserve better.

‘We are a group of South London students who believe in empathy not exclusion. We demand a more compassionate education system and a supportive approach to behaviour and discipline.

Brilliant ad-hack showing how exclusion sets young people on the school to prison line . It impacts black, brown and poor white students. I would go beyond the ask and call for funding for education alternatives to mainstream schooling and education reform #educationnotexclusion pic.twitter.com/NPZ89ZtWZa — Deirdre⭐Dee⭐Woods (@Didara) August 23, 2018

The ‘School to Prison Line’ were seen on the Northern Line this morning (Picture: Twitter)

‘And we demand schools are given the financial resources to make it happen. #EducationNotExclusion’

Commuters praised the guerrilla protest campaign with Twitter user Choco Milo saying: ‘Am I the only one seeing these School to Prison pipeline posters on the Tube this morning? so happy that someone has finally done the work to bring awareness to the problem of exclusion.’

The Advocacy Academy tweeted: ‘This is LIT! South London students are killing it. Fo sho we need more compassion in our education system. Such an crucial reminder that thousands of students are already screwed by # gcseresultday.’

Brilliant to see a group of South London students getting their voices heard on @TfL #NorthernLine this morning. Such a positive use of a scary day, you can't grade that kind of clever! #EducationNotExclusion #GCSEresultsday pic.twitter.com/FQKvrwUT3V — Rose Warlord (tick) (@RoseWardlaw) August 23, 2018

In March this year Edward Timpson CBE, the former Minister of State for Vulnerable Children and Families ​who is leading the Department for Education’s exclusions review, outlined the struggles excluded children face in the UK.

He said: ‘In 2015/16 6,685 children in England were excluded, for some groups of children, including black Caribbean and Gypsy Roma and Traveller children, those with special educational needs, pupils eligible for free school meals, children in need and those in care, the rates of exclusion were much higher.’

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