The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals increased by 1.7 per cent during 2021, government figures have revealed.
According to official figures, the proportion of all pupils eligible for free school meals increased over the the last 12 months from 20.8 per cent in January 2021 to 22.5 per cent in the same month this year.
This is an increase of nearly 160,000 pupils, taking the total number of children who were eligible in January this year to 1.9m.
