Carl Cullinane, Jude Hillary, Joana Andrade and Stephen McNamara
This research from the Sutton Trust finds that the top comprehensive schools in England for GCSE grades are significantly more socially selective than average state schools. The 500 non-selective state schools (where pupils are most likely to get five good GCSEs) take a smaller proportion of disadvantaged pupils than the average state school.
While some this gap can be explained by schools serving catchment areas with lower numbers of disadvantaged pupils, the report suggests a significant reason is due to social selection. Over 85% of schools in the top 500 take fewer disadvantaged pupils than live in their catchment area.
However, the research suggests that there are some signs that the situation is improving. The average proportion of disadvantaged pupils in the best schools has risen to 9.4%, up from 7.6% in 2013. The proportion of top schools with less than 6% disadvantaged pupils has dropped from 57% in 2013 to 39% in 2016.
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