Bangladeshis comprise one of the largest ethnic groups in the United Kingdom, yet they are portrayed in the media as a community suffering from poverty, high levels of unemployment and poor educational attainments. They are stereotyped as a community that is failing to grasp the opportunities available through the educational system to progress into the mainstream of British society. All stereotypes contain a hint of truth an this is no exception. However, an analysis of why Bangladeshi's have not fared well gives plenty of scope for optimism.

Bangladeshis are one of the most recent immigrant groups to settle in the UK. The first generation of Bangladeshis arrived into the UK during the economic boom years of the early 1960's. However, this group consisted almost exclusively of young men. Their wives and children joined much later - during the early 1980's. Many of these families were transplanted from rural communities in Bangladesh with poor provision of educational resources into hostile British inner cities. Arriving with little or no command of English, where family members lack literacy even in their native Bengali, it is not surprising that basic schooling presented an insurmountable struggle. This was not helped by a lack of successful role models. It created the impression in the minds of many young Bangladeshis, their parents and teachers further and higher education, and ultimately a professional career was not really for them.

The past few years have seen a profound change in the fortunes of Bangladeshis in the educational system. Suddenly it is no longer difficult to cite examples of young Bangladeshis progressing through secondary education into universities. The numbers graduating from universities and entering professional careers are growing year by year. The first generation of Bangladeshis to see Britain as their home are now establishing themselves into the mainstream of British society. Young Bangladeshis are achieving in all fields but the old stereotypes remain.

The British-Bangladeshi Professional Association was formed in the spring of 1997 after a series of discussion by a group of successful young British-Bangladeshis. They focused on a number of questions: what does it mean to be a British-Bangladeshi, why does their community have such a poor profile, and how should they make the most of their unique British and Bangladeshi identity. They were united by a common objective of establishing Bangladeshis as active players in the mainstream of British society.