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Less than a third of pupils in Birmingham schools are now white, with Asian students making up almost half of the total classroom population.

A top-level report has revealed for the first time the changing demographics of education in the city after a huge influx of foreign nationals, who now make up almost a quarter of inhabitants.

The document states Asian students are now the single biggest ethnic group in schools, with 13,248 youngsters, (44.3 per cent).

White pupils account for 9,377 pupils, (31.4 per cent), while black students total 3,859 (13 per cent).

The figures are highlighted in a report to Birmingham Community Safety Partnership (BCSP), a multi-agency body including West Midlands Police and the city council.

It states a total of 31,737 pupils were registered in Birmingham schools in 2011, with the report containing data on 29,847 of them, who belong to 87 separate ethnic groupings.

Pupils are said to speak a total of 108 separate languages at home, including 14,636 speaking English, 3,501 Urdu, 3,350 Punjabi, 1,600 Bengali and 1,164 Somali.

Last year, the Mail highlighted one successful Birmingham school where pupils spoke an astonishing 31 different languages.

English Martyrs’ in Sparkhill was described as a veritable League of Nations with first-tongue dialects ranging from Polish, Romanian and Spanish, to Arifkaans, Tamil and Arabic.

Despite being a Catholic school, the majority of pupils hailed from a Pakistani background, with Urdu/Mirpuri the most common dialect spoken by youngsters in the home.

All teaching staff specialise in teaching English as an additional language and the school also uses translators.

But, despite the challenges, the school was ranked one of the best performing in Birmingham in SATs exams in 2011, with 91 per cent of students getting the benchmark level four or above in English, and 89 per cent in maths.

Senior teacher Darren Byrne said buddying up new pupils with children who share the same mother tongue was the key to success.

He said: “We have had many children who have come in with no English whatsoever, and the first thing we do is pair them with other children, as that is the best way for the language to be introduced to them.

“We also use pictures, books and the internet.

‘‘But I find a child having a friend and a confidante is the easiest way for them to pick up words and language which is most important for their day-to-day life at school.

“This can include talking to the teachers and knowing the word for ‘sir’, ‘miss’, ‘please’, ‘thank you’, through to words for objects and nouns.”

The report to BCSP, compiled by Sharon Rowe, Assistant Chief Constable of West Midlands Police, also reveals the changing demographics of Birmingham as a city.

A total of 238,313 of its one million population were born outside of the UK, with 45 per cent of foreign nationals having arrived in the last decade.

The report says: ‘‘Migration from overseas has also added to Birmingham’s population. However there is a continuing net outflow of people moving to other parts of the UK.

“Population estimates put the non-white population at around 451,000. Pakistani was the largest minority group, followed by Indian and Black Caribbean.

“In 9.4 per cent of Birmingham households were people aged 16 and over, whose main language is not English, almost double the England average rate of 5.2 per cent.”

The report also shows how Birmingham is now among the most youthful cities in Europe.

Around 22 per cent of its population are aged under 15, while almost 46 per cent were under 30 – compared with the England average of 37.6 per cent.

The report states: “In contrast to the national and regional picture, there are more children than pensioners in Birmingham. The most populous age group is 20-29 for both sexes.’’

But the report also shows how 36.1 children in Birmingham are now classed as living in child poverty, compared to the national average of 20 per cent.

Last year the Ladywood constituency came fourth on a UK-wide child poverty map, with 46 per cent of kids living on the breadline.

Small Heath and Sparkbrook came joint eighth place with 45 per cent of children living in poverty.

Roger Godsiff, Labour MP for Sparkbrook, spoke at the time of his concern at the gloomy figures, drawn up by the Campaign to End Child Poverty.

“It’s extremely disconcerting because the government cuts will impact more people,’’ he said.

“The cuts are aimed at the poorest section of society.”