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EX-LABOUR minister Alan Milburn said yesterday that there is “no excuse” for tens of thousands of poor teenagers leaving school without good GCSEs.
A report by the government’s child poverty commission chaired by Mr Milburn revealed “shocking” gaps in standards between schools in similar areas.
It said some schools in England had “cracked the code” while others with the same number of disadvantaged pupils were lagging behind.
And it was found that almost six in 10 poor kids leave school without at least five C grades compared to one in three of their richer classmates.
That set them up for a “lifelong struggle to gain basic skills, avoid unemployment and to find and hold down a good job.”
But Blarite Mr Milburn said schools could break the link between poverty and low achievement by following the example of “code-breaker” schools.
The former health secretary said: “Some schools are proving that deprivation needn’t be destiny.
“They have cracked the code on how to improve social mobility by helping disadvantaged children to excel in education.
“If some schools can do it, there is no excuse for others not to.”
The commission said better results lead to higher employment rates and earnings and improvements in health and general wellbeing.
National Association of Head Teachers leader Russell Hobby said: “We rarely need new initiatives. We need to spread what works more widely.
“This report shows that there are schools where children from disadvantaged backgrounds are outperforming the average for all children. It can be done.”
