In the final part of our series on inequality, reporter Clemence Michallon, talks to people in North Oxford about the financial divide between their neighbourhoods

Income inequality in North Oxford has created sharp discrepancies in education and housing, it has been claimed.

Seventeen per cent of Cutteslowe’s children live below the poverty line, according to the latest census, compared to seven per cent in the North ward and nine per cent in Summertown St Margaret.

Inequality in the area is said to date back to the Cutteslowe Wall, built in 1934 to keep poorer residents away from more expensive private housing.

One wall separated Wentworth Road from Aldrich Road and the other was between Wolsey Road and Carlton Road. They came down more than 55 years ago, in March 1959.

Sarah Pepys, a trustee at Cutteslowe Community Association, called the North Oxford suburb an area of “major” deprivation and said it needed more opportunities for families.

“Children grow up with parents and grandparents who don’t work. That impacts how they see their own future,” she said. “We’re helping families who want to change the patterns and have more opportunities available to them.”

Parts of Cutteslowe are among the 20 per cent most unqualified of the city. according to an analysis by Oxfordshire County Council.

“We are helping people identify what work would be best for them and help them get into work,” Ms Pepys said. “We sent out a questionnaire asking if they would like to take part in training that would address those issues. We are training people to find jobs by working on their interviewing skills, IT skills and literacy skills.”

In sharp contrast, GCSE scores at state schools in North Oxford’s Summertown St Margaret’s are well above the city average and two thirds of adults have graduated from university based on the last census.

Martin Roberts, a former headteacher at Cherwell School, said: “The standards of Oxford state schools are going up, but a number of private schools are also doing extremely well. Lots of children from North Oxford go there.

“The private school sector in Oxfordshire is very strong if you’ve got lots of money. I’m not quite sure how people can afford the fees. We’re talking £10,000 a year at least.”

Housing is another key concern in North Oxford. Some areas of Cutteslowe are in the top fifth for the most social housing, according to the county council’s analysis. Meanwhile, other parts of North Oxford are in such high demand that house prices are increasing considerably.

Mr Roberts, who is now the chairman of the Summertown St Margaret’s neighbourhood forum, said he bought his current residence, a “modern, nondescript” house, for £330,000 and has been told it would sell for three times that price.

Affordable housing is now one of the main concerns in the area, he added.

“Oxford is surrounded by a green belt, which is very difficult to build on,” he said. “It has very high employment. It’s prosperous. People want to live here but it’s hard to build lots of houses. Prices are going up very fast.”