Writing for TES, Eleanor Busby reports on the findings of new Sutton Trust research.

Less than a third of white working-class boys from poor neighbourhoods will continue their academic studies after GCSE, a new report finds.

Only 29 per cent of this group – who face a “double disadvantage” – will take AS-, A-levels or another qualification after GCSE, compared with 46 per cent of white working-class boys living in more affluent areas and 68 per cent of boys from more advantaged families.

The research, published by social mobility charity the Sutton Trust, also shows that, overall, boys are less likely than girls to continue on an academic route after GCSE. Two-thirds (66 per cent) of girls take AS-, A-levels or another qualification compared with 55 per cent of all boys.

The attainment gap between poorer girls and their richer peers is also slightly less marked, with more than half (55 per cent) of disadvantaged girls going on to further study. This is compared with three-quarters (77 per cent) of the non-disadvantaged group, according to the report from the University of Oxford.

Read the full article here.

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