Secondary schools ‘fail poor pupils’

Nicola Woolcock quotes the Sutton Trust in her Times coverage of a new Social Mobility Commission report on bright pupils who don’t meet their potential.

Bright children from poor backgrounds can be lost in the “secondary school maze” and overtaken by less intelligent pupils from middle-class families, a report has found.

The early promise shown by the best-achieving children from disadvantaged circumstances disappears at secondary school, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

The research says that every year more than 2,000 children from poor families who get excellent test results aged 11 are missing out on places at leading universities.

The report is published today by the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission, which is chaired by Alan Milburn, the former Labour minister, and advises the government.

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Conor Ryan, the director of research for the Sutton Trust, which campaigns against educational inequality, said: “The Sutton Trust has previously identified 3,000 young people with the grades to go to top universities but not applying or not getting places at them.

“Today’s new report suggests a further 2,000 able young people are losing their way in secondary school, even though they have the ability to gain excellent A levels.

“Too many schools are not doing enough to stretch and encourage students with the potential to succeed.”

Read the full report here (£)

The Sutton Trust was also quoted in the Guardian coverage here and on Mail onlinehere.