An “education arms race” in England has resulted in the higher education progression rate gap between disadvantaged students and their more affluent peers reaching record levels, according to experts.
New figures from the Department for Education (DfE) show that 29.2 per cent of pupils receiving free school meals in state-funded schools progressed to higher education in 2021-22 – up from 28.1 per cent the year before, and the highest rate ever.
However, the progression rate for pupils who did not receive free school meals at the age of 15 rose by much more, to 49.4 per cent.
As a result, the progression rate gap between the two groups jumped by a record amount to 20.2 percentage points.
