Think tank report reveals social divide in English classrooms

Children from poorer families in northern England have a lower attainment at school than better off classmates, a report Monday from a leading think tank revealed.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), in its report, said educational outcomes in the north of England were a cause for concern.

"There is a gap in attainment between the north of England and the 'southern powerhouse' that is London, whose schools are a success story," said the authors of the report.

They said focusing on failing schools was important but would not be sufficient to eradicate educational inequality, with attainment gaps seen even in good and outstanding northern schools.

"Educational inequality is not just a problem for satellite and coastal towns: some major northern cities such as Liverpool, Leeds, and Sheffield also struggle to raise attainment among disadvantaged pupils," the report revealed.

It also said schools in the north receive significantly less money per pupil than those in London, and can struggle to attract and retain high-quality teachers and leaders.

What's more, the divide between London and the north starts before children reach school age, it added.

In London, 59 percent of children who are eligible for free school meals, an unofficial socio-economic barometer, achieve a 'good level of development.' Meanwhile, in the north, only 49 percent of similar pupils do so.

The 'early years gap' between children from poorer and wealthier homes is almost twice as large in the north as it is in London.

Even schools which are performing well in the north still exhibit attainment gaps between wealthier and poorer pupils.

In northern schools rated 'outstanding' by the school's inspectorate Ofsted, there is a gap of 22 percentage points between pupils receiving free school meals and their better-off peers.

On funding, the IPPR report said on average northern primary schools receive 4,600 British pounds (6,658 U.S. dollars) per pupil, which is 900 pounds less than in London. Meanwhile, northern secondary schools receive 5,700 pounds per pupil, 1,300 pounds less than in London.

"Some areas of the north can also find it particularly difficult to recruit and retain teachers...This suggests that the government should use its forthcoming review of the national funding formula to actively weight funding more heavily towards areas of the country which have high levels of disadvantage and which find it difficult to recruit teachers," IPPR recommended.

The report said the north, with its Northern Powerhouse project to boost economic growth in the North of England, has the potential to build on its burgeoning economic strengths, generating prosperity that will benefit the whole of the country. But addressing educational disadvantage must be at the heart of a transformation, the report concluded. (1 British pound = 1.45 U.S. dollars) Endit