Jeremy, I agree with you but I am making a slightly different point. I think being in an environment in which low expectations are the norm (from school and family) significantly influences the outcomes of the children born into those environments. I think it influences the quality of education, how children approach education and work, plan for their future etc. Changing that environment in its entirety is in my view, the most effective way of increasing social mobility and breaking generational underachievement?XI have met a great number of working class people much more naturally intelligent than the people I went to university with but in part due to lack of parental guidance and low expectations from their community and schools never lived up to their potential. I am not saying that it??s impossible to be a success if you come from a disadvantaged background but rather that it would require a young person to have extraordinary vision and drive and therefore is not an even playing field. Many of the successful people I have met are not really that exceptional but rather have been groomed and trained for success and their entire lives have assumed they would be successful. Just look at the improving quality of education in Dulwich??s local state primaries as evidence of this as the parents and area has become more middle class. DJKillaQueen: I definitely agree that traditional schooling is not necessary to successfully carryout many jobs (though some form of accreditation following even an apprenticeship does seem worth arranging). I am not sure we have a shortage of semi or unskilled workers though?XI could be wrong, I honestly have no idea. Even though unemployment is increasing, the private sector is growing, just not enough to absorb the layoffs in the public sector and all the new graduates?Xparticularly as people are working longer. Once the public sector cuts are finally complete, the unemployment rate will slowly come down (no comfort to those out of work now I know). What is needed is targeted training to develop the skills that the current economy needs by looking at what sectors are growing and consulting the business community about what skills they need in the workforce. Spending more money on targeted training schemes for lower skilled workers would do much more to regenerate low-income areas than only providing benefits. Anyway, OP, East Dulwich is great and is increasingly attracting people who 10 years ago could have afforded to live in the West End but now are starting moving to the suburbs of London so they can have a balanced quality of life or because they are totally priced out. ED perhaps is starting to have the socioeconomic make-up of Notting Hill in the late 1990s but with a slower pace of life inherent to the suburbs?Xit comes with learning to wait 15 min for a train ??.