Anna Davis reported for the Evening Standard on Caught Out

PRIMARY schools in London are more likely to take a disproportionate number of wealthy children compared with the local neighbourhood, figures suggest.

The Sutton Trust found that primary schools in the capital are more “socially selective” than anywhere else in the country and do not reflect their local areas.

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Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the Sutton Trust and the Education Endowment Foundation, said: “Competition for school places in London is fiercer than ever but our research shows that it is the city’s poorest pupils that are losing out.

“We need fairer admissions processes to make sure every child has the same chance of accessing a top state school.”

He added: “We need to make sure that oversubscribed schools do more to prioritise pupils from disadvantaged homes and the schools adjudicator does more to prevent parents from gaming the system.”
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Nearly 200 of London’s 1,640 primary schools has an intake that has far fewer disadvantaged pupils than live in its catchment areas.

Read her full report here

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