Advertisement
News

Rural areas with pupils on free school meals get lower exam results

Children in the countryside were found to score lower in their GCSEs than equally disadvantaged children in urban areas

Pupils from poorer families in rural schools get lower exam results than their counterparts in urban areas – and experts say it is because the government does not have a “nuanced view” of poverty.

New figures show that schools in countryside and coastal areas are finding it particularly difficult to break the link between poverty and low attainment, even compared to those in all other areas who are similarly disadvantaged.

Local authorities in the countryside were found to report the strongest correlation between the number of pupils on free school meals and lower GCSE grades.

However schools in urban settlements like Bradford and Watford were not far behind poorer rural areas, with the second highest correlation between deprivation and attainment.

In a report for thinktank LKMco, director Loic Menzies outlined the “striking differences” between ‘ethnically diverse cosmopolitan’ areas with high poverty levels (including Greater London and Birmingham) and those separate from towns and cities.

Menzies said: “It seems that low attainment in rural, high-deprivation secondary schools is not just about pupils having low starting points. Instead, there is an important link between school deprivation level and progress rates.”

Advertisement
Advertisement

He added that the government must focus on areas like school size, local labour markets and real wealth levels in the surrounding area in order to tackle the problem.

The report suggested that poorer rural schools would benefit from joining mixed academy trusts, which share resources and best practice tips.

But there is a high rate of Church of England schools in the countryside which could be prevented from teaming up with neighbouring schools to cut costs, largely due to the requirement to preserve their Christian values.

In a report on education isolation for Plymouth and Plymouth Marjon universities, Headteachers’ Roundtable chair Stephen Tierney said: “Not without justification, these educationally isolated school leaders are frustrated by those that control resources without truly understanding the ‘context’ the school has to work in.

“Our accountability system is too narrow and unforgiving. What is required is a far greater understanding of the different improvement journeys required by these schools.

“Decades of limited access to school improvement resources – high quality workforce, school to school support and funded school improvement interventions – has led to educationally isolated schools feeling like they have been forgotten. They arguably have and it’s time for this to change.”

The report showed that rural schools have greater difficulty recruiting high quality workforces and are less connected to national funding streams than urban counterparts.

The absence of robust funding schemes in the countryside and on the coast “was seen to exacerbate disparities in school funding” overall.

And in 2016, the Social Mobility Commission ranked all English local authorities by social mobility – finding that children in some of the most remote parts of the country are least likely to improve on the socioeconomic circumstances of their families.

Advertisement

Sign our petition to keep people in their homes

Urgent action is needed to prevent even more people being pushed into homelessness.  A secure home is the first step in addressing the cruel cycle of poverty to ensure people can fulfil their potential. Join us to keep people in their homes.

Recommended for you

Read All
How young people in prison are getting a fresh start by giving free haircuts to the homeless
Rehabilitation

How young people in prison are getting a fresh start by giving free haircuts to the homeless

'Substantial efforts' needed to improve knowledge of homelessness, landmark UN report says
homelessness

'Substantial efforts' needed to improve knowledge of homelessness, landmark UN report says

All of Keir Starmer’s u-turns and abandoned policy pledges, from child benefits to private schools
Labour

All of Keir Starmer’s u-turns and abandoned policy pledges, from child benefits to private schools

Suella Braverman sinks to new low saying asylum seekers pretend to be gay for 'special treatment'
Asylum seekers

Suella Braverman sinks to new low saying asylum seekers pretend to be gay for 'special treatment'

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Here's when people will get the second cost of living payment in 2023
3.

Here's when people will get the second cost of living payment in 2023

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue
4.

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue