GCSE fail for poorest kids

PUPILS from poorer areas are nearly twice as likely to do badly in their GCSEs than richer students.

Some 38% in poor parts of England got below a “standard pass” grade 4 last year but in richer areas it was 20%, found charity Teach First, which called for targeted investment.

Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner said: “The Tories have embedded inequality in our schools.”

The Department for Education said the gap “has narrowed since 2011”.