Revealed: the towns where clever pupils fail if they’re poor

Bright children from poor families fare up to ten times worse in some schools depending on where they live, data from a charity suggests.

Teenagers from disadvantaged homes were five times less likely to go to a top university in the worst-performing areas and half as likely to get a professional job, according an index mapping social mobility in parliamentary constituencies in England.

The Sutton Trust charity found there were stark inequalities among poor young people after charting the achievement of children who were entitled to free school meals.

Far fewer such children did well at nursery, school and university in some constituencies, particularly outside London, than pupils from similar family backgrounds elsewhere.

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Lee Elliot Major, the trust’s chief executive, said: “The fact that schools in some parts of the country do much better for their disadvantaged students than those in other parts shows how important it is that the next government redoubles the national drive to improve social mobility and reduce educational inequalities.

“Whoever is in government after May has a major task ahead if they want to ensure young people can succeed regardless of their background and where they grow up.”

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