Three quarters of pupils at a north Manchester school live in poverty as the cost of living crisis deepens, but their school life paints a contrasting picture.
Around 1,200 children attend Manchester Communication Academy in Harpurhey, studying in a £32million building with access to the latest technology and equipment.
But when the school bell rings, more than 900 students return home to an alternate reality.
For many, food is scarce, electricity is off and their homes are falling into disrepair.
“They get a lot of opportunities…that’s their day-to-day life,” said Dr. Patsy Hodson, the school’s deputy headmistress, told BBC North West Tonight.
“Then they go home to a potentially bug-infested house with a toilet that doesn’t flush where they have to take a bucket into the bath to shower.”
Ms Hodson said: “It’s hybrid poverty and absolutely toxic because it hides. They hide in plain sight.
“So you can walk through the school, see all these beautifully dressed kids walking around, and their parents literally don’t survive.
“They are completely below the poverty line.”
Ms Hodson added that her school is not an isolated example with 15 nearby educational institutions also dealing with a similar situation.
Despite the difficulties outside the classroom, students’ test results at the school are at or above the national average.
Ms Hodson believes the extra support from the school has helped.
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It allows kids to cook with free ingredients once a week so they can take a meal home.
The school also runs a grocery center where families can pick up three large bags of provisions each week, and covers expenses such as bus tickets, uniforms, and cultural trips.
“It’s akin to children growing up in developing countries where they don’t have the basic necessities of life,” Ms. Hodson said.
According to Vicky Leigh, the school’s Head of Family Partnerships, poor housing is one of the biggest problems for people living in poverty.
She said: “We have situations where families have gotten so much moisture that the walls are literally black.
“They have leaks and have to put a bucket on the sofa because water gets in when it rains, problems with rats and other vermin.”
Research has shown that growing up poor doesn’t just affect your childhood experiences and education.
It can affect what job you can get, how much you earn, your mental and physical health, your relationships, and even your life expectancy.
Life expectancy in Newton Heath in north Manchester is 10 years lower than in East Didsbury in the south of the city, according to Public Health England.
Ms Hodson said: “We have children who live eight miles away and live a completely different lifestyle than children here.
“We shouldn’t have children in 21st century Britain living eight miles apart and waking up with completely different life chances whose life scripts have already been written.
“That’s wrong.”
You can catch more of this story on Tuesday 12 July at 18:30 BST on BBC North West Tonight on BBC One or on iPlayer.
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