Top State Schools Exclude Poor, Says Study

By Carpenter, Jamie

Children from disadvantaged backgrounds are significantly underrepresented at England’s top state schools, according to findings published this week.

A report by the Sutton Trust which makes grants to educational projects for young people from non-privileged backgrounds – says that England’s leading state schools are “socially selective”.

Using data from the National Foundation for Educational Research, the study says that only three per cent of children in the top 200 state secondary schools qualify for free school meals, compared with a rate of 12.3 per cent in the postcode sectors of those schools.

“Poorer children are much less likely to benefit from a top quality state education than their better-off peers, even if a leading maintained school is on their doorstep,” says the report. It adds that the social exclusivity of the top schools is reinforced by wealthy families driving up local property prices by moving into their catchment areas.

Forms of selection employed by the schools, such as interviewing parents and students, or selecting on the grounds of faith, also have the effect of skewing the schools’ social profile, says the report.

Sutton Trust chairman Sir Peter Lampl said: “We have replaced an education system which selected on ability with one that is socially selective.”

Paul Dornan, head of policy and research at charity the Child Poverty Action Group, said the report showed “how segregated by socioeconomic group the education system remains”. He added:”If we are to maximise the potential of every child, then the Government must act to remove these barriers.”

But a Department for Education and Skills spokesman said a high proportion of the 200 schools in the report are grammar schools, which “select on the basis of high ability rather than other criteria like a pupil’s background”.

Rates of Eligibility for Free School Meals at the Top State Schools is available via www.regen.net/doc

Dornan: wants socio-economic barriers removed

Copyright Haymarket Business Publications Ltd. Oct 14, 2005