New Parliamentary figures have highlighted massive inequalities in the education system.

Children in the most deprived areas of the country have more than a 50% chance of attending a school that is failing to meet the Government’s benchmark of 30% of children getting five good GCSEs, compared to only a 3% chance in the wealthiest areas, the figures have revealed.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Shadow Children, Schools and Families Secretary, David Laws said:

"There are massive inequalities in our education system between schools in deprived and more affluent areas. We simply cannot accept a situation where over half of schools in the most deprived areas are failing to get an overwhelming majority of their pupils up to a good exam standard.

"These figures reinforce the case for introducing a Pupil Premium which would target extra money on young people from more deprived backgrounds, bringing their level of education funding up to levels in the private sector."

Notes

A link to the Parliamentary Question is below: