Poverty still a factor in school exam results
ThegapbetweenGCSEgrades for youngsters from poorer families and their better off peers has stalled for over the last decade, new analysis has found.
A Education Policy Instutute (EPI) report says that, in 2020, the average GCSE grade gap between pupils trapped in long-term poverty – those eligible for free school meals – and their peers was 1.6 grades.
That, it says, means been no progress in closing the gap since 2011.
The researchers also found a "marked increase" in long-term poverty among poorer pupils in recent years, with 39% eligible for free school meals in 2020 – up from 35% in 2017,
Emily Hunt, associate director at EPI, said that the paper showed there had been a "decade of failure" when it came to improving attainment for pupils in long-term poverty.
"Our research shows that despite Government policy interventions, there has been a decade of failure to improve the relative outcomes of students in long-term poverty – with these students still trailing their better-off peers by over a full grade and a half at GCSE," she said.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the report showed that "poverty and educational outcomes are inextricably linked in our deeply unequal society".
He added: "Put simply, it is difficult for a child to learn if they live cold and hungry lives and face other challenges caused by disadvantage.
"Schools are great agents of social change but they cannot alone overcome the challenges caused by grinding poverty."