The gap in GCSE attainment between disadvantaged pupils and their better-off peers has widened again, and is at its highest for over a decade.
Key stage 4 data published today shows the gap, which is based on average GCSE English and maths attainment nationally, widened from 3.84 last year to 3.95 this year. The gap has now widened every year since 2020.
It comes after the proportion of top GCSE grades handed out to 16-year-olds in Englanddropped by 17 per cent, falling to near the same level as pre-pandemic 2019.
