COVID ROBBING US OF OUR FUTURES

»»Poorest kids »»Generation are hit worst by fears lasting loss of learning damage done

THE pandemic has hit the poorest students hardest, leaving many disillusioned and fearing for their chances of reaching university.

A survey from the Social Mobility Foundation shows almost two years of changes to the exam system and sparse resources left many kids unable to catch up after months of disruption.

The SMF works with high-achieving youngsters, most of whom are on free school meals. Of the 1,500 it polled, one third said they fear the pandemic had left them short of the grades they need for university.

Poorer kids have missed more school than wealthier counterparts and are less likely to have laptops, fast internet or a quiet study area.

Some feel their hard work in the face of all that has not been recognised by a shambolic assessment system that left no room for appeal.

Under new rules introduced this year, all young people in the UK are being graded by teacher judgement. But eight per cent of those surveyed said they had already sat or were scheduled to sit exam condition tests, upon which their final grades would be based.

Sarah Atkinson, chief of the SMF, said the impact on the worst-off kids was a “real test for the Government’s commitment to levelling up”.

She said: “The pandemic has not affected this country equally and has hit young people from disadvantaged backgrounds the hardest. Yet the appeals process does not account for this at all.”

Government stats show poorer pupils lost

2.2 months in reading at primary and secondary age, and 4.5 months in primary maths – up to a month more than richer kids.

The SMF wants ministers to let all Year 13 pupils repeat a year if their school agrees. It also wants it made easier to appeal teacher grades and for kids to be allowed to take exams instead

– free of charge – if they wish.