Students’ voices have been used as a way of exploring and further developing practices in schools in order to enhance students’ experiences (Ainscow and Kaplan, 2005; Fielding, 2001; Messiou, 2006).   The research project reported here, which is currently on going, builds on earlier work on marginalisation in schools (Messiou, 2003; 2006; 2008).  It focuses on a city in England that has been ranked as the 9^th most deprived local authority district out of 354 (Indices of Deprivation in 2004 by the then Office of the Deputy Prime Minister).  It was also ranked as the most deprived local authority district in terms of education. 

The study focuses on a particularly disadvantaged area of the city, and involves work carried out in two secondary schools.  Both schools accept students from very disadvantaged backgrounds and, more recently, students arriving from other countries.  According to Ainscow and West (2006), urban schools are not just those situated in urban environments but those where the population is drawn from the poorest and least advantaged sections of the community, and where there are sometimes significant numbers of bilingual learners.

One of the schools is moving into a new building in September 2011, and accepting two hundred students from the other school, as part of a planned merger.  The project aims to use the views of students in order to contribute to the process of creating a school that will be effective in supporting the learning and achievement of a diverse and challenging student population.   The overall questions that will be addressed in the paper are:

-         What are the challenges faced by students in urban schools, particularly those who are most likely to be marginalised?

-         How can students’ voices facilitate the process of creating an effective learning environment in schools?

Ainscow, M. and Kaplan, I. (2005). Using evidence to encourage inclusive school development: possibilities and challenges. Australasian Journal of Special Education 29 (2), 106-116. Ainscow, M. and West, M. (2006) Improving urban schools: Leadership and collaboration. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Fielding, M. 2001. Students as radical agents of change, Journal of Educational Change, 2 (2), 123-141. Messiou, K. (2003) Conversations with children: A pathway towards understanding marginalisation and inclusive education, University of Manchester: Unpublished PhD thesis. Messiou, K. (2006) Understanding marginalisation in education: the voice of children. European Journal of Psychology of Education. 21(3), 305-318. Messiou, K. (2008) Understanding children’s constructions of meanings about other children: Implications for inclusive education, Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 8, 1, pp. 27-36.