Social mobility “cold spots” in England are likely to get colder if action is not taken, a cross-party group of MPs and peers warn. There could be serious repercussions for children’s achievement in these areas, such as Norfolk, Somerset and Blackpool, if the government does not offer more support, a report on social mobility says. The all-party parliamentary group on social mobility is calling for ring-fenced funding for children’s centres and for high-quality early years provision to be offere...

Schools in England will no longer be punished for failing to meet the government’s standards in national exams or tests, Damian Hinds will announce as part of a new strategy to attract and retain teachers in the profession. The proposals to be unveiled by the education secretary means schools will not be defined as failing or “coasting” based on results of national tests or GCSE exams, removing a burden of assessment that has been criticised for unfairly hitting schools with challenging pupil i...

The introduction of new, tougher GCSE exams in England has led to a widening of the gap between the results achieved by disadvantaged pupils and their better-off peers, according to official figures. The Department for Education (DfE) analysis of last summer’s GCSE exams found the gap between disadvantaged pupils and others at secondary school grew by 0.6 percentage points, after two years in which it had narrowed. While disadvantaged pupils showed an improvement in the proportion gaining a gr...

Universities in England making “indiscriminate” unconditional offers to potential students may fall foul of consumer legislation against “pressure selling”, the sector’s regulator warned as it launched a consultation on admissions. The Office for Students (OfS) said it was particularly concerned at the growth of so-called “conditional unconditional offers” in recent years, which see universities giving students guaranteed places only if they name that university as their first choice. “So-call...

As secondary school tables are published, BBC analysis shows it will take over 70 years for poorer pupils to catch up with their peers at GCSE. If the pace of change remains the same as it has been since 2011, poor pupils will not do as well until the 2090s. The data shows the achievement between the poorest pupils in England and their classmates is closing but very slowly. This year, 24.9% of the poorest pupils got good passes in English and maths GCSE, compared with 50.1% of the rest. The ...

Dr Graeme Atherton, director of the National Education Opportunities Network and co-author of the report “Post-qualification application: a student-centred model”, says YES. Going to university is the biggest decision that most young people face. They deserve a university admissions system that helps them make this decision properly. We are the only country in the world where university places are offered on the basis of predicted grades, and more than 80 per cent of these predictions are wro...

About 10% of students in English universities avoid having to rack up large debts and pay “sky-high” interest rates because they are rich enough to pay their fees upfront, researchers have said. Approximately 110,000 undergraduates are “escaping” the student fee system by paying for university in one go thanks to a “get-out-of-jail-free card” from their wealthy families, according to a think-tank. The study, by the Intergenerational Foundation, also found that the proportion of students who se...