Encouragement from teachers is key to keeping pupils engaged with education after the age of 16, suggests a study of more than 4,000 students in England. Middle-ability students and those whose parents lack qualifications benefit most from positive feedback, according to the Cambridge University research. The students were tracked for seven years from the age of 13 onwards. This is the first study of its kind to quantify the effect of encouragement on pupils, says the university. "When people sp...

Students from white British backgrounds are often holding themselves back by making poor educational choices, with many shutting themselves out of better careers as a result, according to a study for the government’s social mobility watchdog. Researchers found that as much as half of the gap in admissions to highly selective Russell Group universities between children on free school meals (FSM) and their better-off peers could be a result of factors beyond academic ability. The analysis publishe...

Children from the poorest backgrounds who live in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the country leave secondary school having made almost two years’ less progress than their wealthier peers living elsewhere, according to a new report. The findings are based on a comparison of student progress in six regions of the country – recently highlighted by the government as areas of particularly low social mobility – with pupil progress elsewhere in England. And while the problem is long-standing, ...

Schools are being urged to focus improvement efforts on struggling white working-class pupils who get the worst GCSE results of all the main ethnic groups, amid growing concern about stark disparities in attainment. A study by the Sutton Trust education charity found that disadvantaged pupils from Chinese backgrounds were almost three times as likely to get the benchmark five good GCSEs as their white working-class peers. Among poorer white children, meanwhile, just a quarter of boys (24%) and a...

Universities should make greater efforts to spot talent among disadvantaged students and place special emphasis on encouraging white working-class men in order to widen access to higher education, according to a new report backed by British universities. The report – produced by the sector at the request of the government – found that “socio-economic disadvantage has more persistent and far-reaching impact on access to and outcomes from higher education” than any other single cause. But the stud...

University education in England is entrenching inequality, according to an academic study examining how the provision of limited loans exacerbates the difference in life chances of those with and without family wealth. The current system is predicated on students being able to supplement their income from family wealth and leaves those from less advantaged backgrounds to struggle, it is claimed. A mismatch has grown, the study says, between the anticipated benefits of a university education and ...

Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner says government ‘slamming the doors’ on talented students on low incomes. The government is facing calls for an urgent review of student financing after official figures showed that the number of state school pupils going on to higher education had dropped the year tuition fees soared to £9,000. A report by the Department for Education showed that the percentage of state-educated pupils going on to universities and colleges in 2013/14 fell to 62%, from 66...

Boys are nearly twice as likely as girls to have fallen behind by the time they start school, a report says. Save the Children says a quarter of boys in England - 90,000 - started reception class struggling to speak a full sentence or follow instructions. The report, based on a University of Bristol study, says children who start school behind often never catch up. A Department for Education spokesperson said "we are making a significant investment in the early years sector". The report compared...

Study finds pupils who take part in organised sports and physical activities are more likely to achieve higher results. After-school clubs can improve the academic performance and social skills of children from disadvantaged backgrounds, research shows. The study of 6,400 children in England found that those who took part in organised sports and physical activities at the ages of five, seven and 11 were almost one and a half times more likely to reach a higher than expected level in their Key St...