The gap between poor and rich pupils at GCSE has widened, signalling “a major setback for social mobility”, according to a new report.
The study, by the Education Policy Institute, found the gap, which had been gradually closing since 2011, widened last year, with the most persistently disadvantaged pupils now almost two years (22.6 months) behind their peers by the time they finish their GCSEs.
The thinktank discovered that disadvantaged pupils were 9.2 months behind their richer classmates by the end of primary school. Then, by the time children were sitting to take their GCSEs, poorer students were 18.1 months behind in terms of average attainment in English and maths.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The study says that, at the current rate, it will take 500 years to close the gap.
The BBC says the analysis shows “particular problems in the north,” while TES points out that “black Caribbean pupils have fallen further behind white British pupils, as the attainment gap between them has widened by 2.2 months since 2011”.
David Laws, chairman of the Education Policy Institute and a former Liberal Democrats minister, described the findings as a “major setback” for social mobility.
He added: “Educational inequality on this scale is bad for both social mobility and economic productivity. This report should be a wake-up call for our new prime minister.”
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT union, said: "Schools and colleges need an immediate multibillion-pound emergency investment, alongside a long-term commitment to sufficient education funding.”
Labour’s education spokesman Angela Rayner told the Daily Mail that “successive Tory governments have cut school budgets for the first time in a generation”.
The government said the gap had “narrowed considerably” in recent years.
School Standards Minister Nick Gibb said: “Teachers and school leaders are helping to drive up standards right across the country, with 85% of children now in good or outstanding schools compared to just 66% in 2010, but there is more to do to continue to attract and retain talented individuals in our classrooms.”
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Court says labor board's structure unconstitutionalSpeed Read The ruling has broad implications for labor rights enforcement in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi
-
Feds seek harsh charges in DC arrests, except for riflesSpeed Read The DOJ said 465 arrests had been made in D.C. since Trump federalized law enforcement there two weeks ago
-
English literature: is it doomed?Speed Read Arts and humanities courses are under attack thanks to a shift to ‘skills-led’ learning
-
Are UK classrooms a new political battleground?Speed Read Government has issued new guidance on political neutrality in schools
-
Kathleen Stock resigns: the ‘hounding’ of an academic on the front line of transgender rights debateSpeed Read Sussex University students claim ‘trans and non-binary students are safer and happier for it’
-
How 100,000 ‘lost children’ disappeared from UK school systemSpeed Read Experts warn that vulnerable pupils may be recruited by gangs after failing to return to education post-lockdown
-
Why is the government planning to cut arts education funding by 50%?Speed Read Proposal described by critics as ‘catastrophic’ and ‘an attack on the future of UK arts’
-
Schools do not spread Covid-19, multiple studies findSpeed Read Reports from Germany, Norway and the WHO conclude schoolchildren are not vector of infection
-
Universities must consider refunding students hit by Covid disruption, regulator warnsSpeed Read Institutions under investigation as thousands of undergraduates remain locked down amid coronavirus outbreaks
-
Coronavirus: will UK schools have to close again?Speed Read Thousands of teachers are self-isolating - but the government is determined not to order new closures
