In the second part of her blog on school admissions, our Senior Schools Engagement Manager, Charlotte O’Regan, draws on our new research on school admissions to reiterate why reform of the admissions system is so important.
In October, the Sutton Trust issued a call to action for school leaders. We need to make school admissions fairer so that more children from lower income families have access to the top-performing schools.
New research published by the Sutton Trust today only serves to highlight that this work is more important than ever. The headline remains the same – if you qualify for Free School Meals you are less likely than your advantaged peers to attend a top performing comprehensive even if there is one in your local area. Even more alarmingly, some measures indicate a possible widening of the gap.
The educational landscape has changed considerably since 2016. Levels of deprivation have increased and the average proportion of children eligible for FSM in comprehensives schools is now at 22%. Simultaneously, greater numbers of schools now belong to Multi Academy Trusts than previously, and we have more Free schools than ever before. Schools have lived through and supported the nation’s children through a pandemic and a subsequent cost of living crisis. The pressures of working in education have been unrelenting in recent years. But despite this, the problem of unfair admissions cannot be left unchallenged, it will not go away without proactive and deliberate actions.
