THE Government’s decision to focus on education and job prospects for young people in the North-East is a welcome one.

Later today, the education secretary, Damian Hinds, will announce a new £24m programme aimed at redressing the imbalance that sees the North-East sitting below every other English region in a host of different educational measures.

As Mr Hinds rightly observes, while the region’s primary-school standards tend to keep track with the rest of the country, there is a dramatic decline once pupils reach secondary education.

A lack of resources is an issue, and it is sensible to direct additional funding at training for new teachers and improving facilities within schools.

However, as Mr Hinds is expected to acknowledge, this is not a problem that can be solved by money alone. A panel of education experts will examine how best to ‘raise aspirations among working-class communities’, and this gets to the heart of the issue.

White disadvantaged boys are less likely to go to university than any other ethnic group, and if the Government’s ‘Opportunity North East’ initiative is to be successful, it has to find a way to transform the hopes and ambitions of a part of the population that has been somewhat ignored in recent years.

There needs to be a role for business and community groups in persuading working-class boys in particular that a successful education and a place at university are something they should aspire to. Only by believing that, can they begin to change their lives.