Wealthy students fare off worse than poorer students from London, new study finds

A new study has found that poorer students from London get better grades than wealthy ones from outside the capital.  

The study, conducted by the Education Policy Institute thinktank, found there has been a widening gap between wealthy and poor students across all age groups and most regions since the COVID-19 pandemic. 

But in about a dozen London authorities, children from disadvantaged homes have fared better in their A-Level or equivalent qualifications than the average non-deprived teenager, the Times reported. 

The report found that across the UK, deprived pupils were 3.5 grades behind wealthy students from the same area in their A-Levels or similar qualifications. 

But in 11 London boroughs, including Southwark, Sutton, Ealing, Islington and Havering, poorer students were at least a grade ahead of their richer counterparts. 

However, 17 local authorities outside London, including Portsmouth, Oxfordshire, and Barnsley, found that poorer students were a whole five grades behind. 

Overall, the attainment gap between poor and rich students had widened between primary school and sixth form. 

The report found the gap for poor students at the end of sixth form, when almost all leave school, was at its widest since 2017.

Professor Becky Francis, chief executive of the Education Endowment Foundation, the English charity, said the report showed the link between income and grades was further entrenched' by the pandemic.  

'Weakening this may seem like a near-impossible challenge, but we mustn't forget that it can be done,' she said. 

Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, the head teachers' union, said the widening of the disadvantage gap was 'not unexpected.'

'We and others repeatedly warned that the impact of the pandemic was uneven. But ministers failed to respond,' he said.