'Almost no progress' in closing attainment gap which has worsened in Yorkshire, charity warns, amid exams confusion

Yorkshire and Humber is one area where charity Teach First says there is evidence the attainment gap has widened, and they called for long-term funding for schools with the poorest pupils ahead of GCSE results being announced tomorrow.

It comes after Labour yesterday pushed for clarity over which results students would receive tomorrow, following the U-turn on A-Level results earlier in the week.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson yesterday said GCSE pupils would be handed results reflecting “whichever is their highest” between the grade awarded by their teachers, or that given after the moderation process which threw A-Level results into chaos.

But Department of Education guidance released on Monday had said pupils would only receive their centre-assessed grade, with official grades to follow a week later.

It was later clarified by the Joint Council of Qualifications that students would receive their final, highest, grade tomorrow.

Russell Hobby, chief executive of Teach First, said the “confusion and change” with exams this year had left pupils, parents, and teachers “overwhelmed” and “the process threw a sharp light on the inequality in our education system”.

But he said “inequality in exam results is hardly unique to this year” as the charity’s report showed that in the most recent available figures (2018/19), just 45 per cent of disadvantaged pupils achieved passes at Levels 9-4 in English and maths, compared with 72 per cent of non-disadvantaged pupils.

The figures have not moved in the last three years, which Teach First said shows no progress has been made in closing the attainment gap.

It also showed that in Yorkshire and the Humber the attainment gap had not only stayed the same but increased slightly since 2017.

Mr Hobby said: “This report has laid bare that due to unequal access to a brilliant education, pupils from wealthier homes are awarded better results than their peers year after year. It’s not because they are smarter or more ambitious, there are talented young people in every community.

“To tackle this once and for all we must prioritise investment in schools in low-income areas to build a fairer, thriving society.”

The spotlight on disadvantage came after an algorithm used to award A-Levels in the absence of exams due to Covid saw 40 per cent of grades reduced from teachers’ predictions.

High-performing pupils at schools with a record of low performance were hardest hit as their final results were adjusted based on previous years.

But the Government was forced into a U-turn on Monday and now whichever grade is higher between teacher-award results and those which have gone through the system will be awarded for both A-Levels and GCSEs.

Mr Williamson apologised for the distress caused and said the Government had been given “reassurance” that the grading system would not discriminate against children from a disadvantaged background.

He said: “Actually, the real issue in terms of where we saw the mounting evidence that was presented to us as a result of standardisation process that there were too many children – whether from a disadvantaged background or a privileged background – that quite simply had not got the grade that they truly deserved and had been working towards.

“When that was the situation there was no appeals process – no matter how robust or how extensive – that was going to be sufficient in order to be able to deal with that.

“That’s why I believe it was the right decision to move to centre-assessed grades if that is higher, or using the standardisation model if that provided the highest grade for the student.”

Henri Murison, Director of Northern Powerhouse Partnership said yesterday: “The growing educational divide between North and South has been a significant concern for Northern Powerhouse Partnership since we were founded, and we have commissioned work from the Education Data Lab which has demonstrated that it is those who are most disadvantaged and so on free school meals throughout their times in education who on average do worse wherever they live in England.

“Many of our Yorkshire so-called left behind towns, and areas in our cities, have the highest concentrations of less well off white working class young people and children who are amongst the ethnic groups which when also from low income groups make the slowest progress, particularly at secondary school.

“We are very different from London, and that is why results are so different, and some of our schools get exceptional results despite facing these challenges.”

He called on the Department for Education to better target funding at those areas which needed help.

A Department for Education spokesman said: “The gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers has narrowed considerably in both primary and secondary schools since 2011. During that time this government has delivered a range of reforms to ensure every child, regardless of their background, receives a high-quality education.

“We are investing £2.4bn this year alone through the Pupil Premium to help the most disadvantaged children and teachers and school leaders are helping to drive up standards right across the country – with 86 per cent of schools judged good or outstanding compared to 68 per cent in 2010.”

He added: “We have been clear that getting all children back in the classroom full-time in September is a national priority, and taken steps to directly tackle the impact of lost teaching time over the coming year, such as the £1bn Covid catch up package which includes a £350m National Tutoring Programme to provide additional, targeted support for those children and young people who need the most help.”

Teach First provides support to teachers and schools in disadvantaged communities.

It comes as Yorkshire’s universities are preparing to welcome more students than expected after the Government’s U-turn on grades.

Shadow universities minister and Hull West and Hessle MP Emma Hardy said yesterday that the delay in allowing pupils to be given grades estimated by teachers has caused a “massive headache”.

She told BBC Breakfast: “His delay in making this decision has meant that more and more places at university have been filled up.

“Many students have gone ahead and accepted their second-place offers or other offers, or in fact got offers that maybe in the past they wouldn’t have actually been entitled to.

“This has created a massive headache for our entire universities system. It’s so frustrating because it’s something that could have been avoided.”

Leading universities have warned that students who now have higher grades amid the policy change could still be asked to defer their place if there is no space left on their preferred course.

In some courses, such as medicine and dentistry, institutions may not be able to admit students this year.

Universities in England had only been allowed to recruit five per cent more UK students than their targets this year to prevent institutions from over-recruiting to make up for lost revenue as a result of Covid-19.

But the Government announced on Monday that it will lift this temporary cap on student numbers.

Jo Grady, general secretary of the University and College Union, warned that removing the cap could mean that certain universities “hoover up students, hitting the finances of other institutions”.

She added: “And there has been no word from Government about how universities will accommodate any increase in student numbers safely.

“It now needs to provide substantial financial support to the sector so that universities can protect all jobs, safely welcome students and continue to provide world-leading teaching and research.”

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson told BBC Breakfast yesterday: “We recognise some of the real challenges that universities face. We know that there’s a clear expectation that is on universities for them to welcome in so many youngsters who have achieved those grades.”

The minister – who last month vowed to tear up the target to send 50 per cent of young people into higher education – said: “We’re going to have a record year of the number of people who are going to university and we’ll work with the sector to ensure they have … capacity.”

University of Hull vice-chancellor Professor Susan Lea said there had been “uncertainty” but that the institution would “continue to honour our commitment to guarantee new students with a space in our on-campus accommodation”.

Leeds Beckett, Bradford, Sheffield Hallam, and York universities confirmed they would offer places to any offer-holders who now met the grade requirements.

While the University of Leeds and Leeds Trinity said they were still assessing how to apply the changed policy.