White pupils have fallen behind their classmates since the pandemic, a report has suggested.
The annual report, by the Education Policy Institute think tank, also concluded that the attainment gap between poorer pupils and their wealthier peers had widened in the same 2019-22 period.
Children classed as persistently disadvantaged — eligible for free school meals for at least 80 per cent of their schooling — are more than a year behind their peers by the end of primary school and almost two years behind by the end of secondary school.
The institute looked at attainment in schools in England in the year before the pandemic compared with last year.
