Disadvantaged students are at least twice as likely to drop out of A levels as to get the top grade in a number of subjects, analysis shows.
Despite making up a quarter of all Year 11 students, those eligible for free school meals (FSM) accounted for just 9 per cent of A-level students last year.
Some 13 per cent of all A-level students eligible for FSM dropped out before finishing, research by the charity Teach First, shared exclusively with Tes, shows.
Across 11 A-level subjects analysed by Teach First, an average of 4.8 per cent of students eligible for FSM achieved an A* last year. This means that students on FSM were more than twice as likely to drop out as they were to achieve the top A-level grade across this group of popular subjects.
James Toop, CEO of Teach First, warned that this issue “isn’t about talent” but instead “opportunity”.
Teach First has previously said that the national teacher shortage “locks out” the poorest students from A levels in science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem) subjects.
The disadvantage gap at A level
The pattern of students on FSM being less likely to achieve top results than non-FSM students is repeated across different subjects.
In physics and maths, FSM students were half as likely - or less - to achieve an A* as their more affluent peers. Some 3 per cent of FSM students got an A* in physics last summer and 9 per cent in maths, compared with figures of 12 per cent and 18 per cent, respectively, for wealthier students.
A similar trend was seen in humanities subjects, with disadvantaged students less likely to get the top grade in English and history.
Larger gaps were seen in languages. In both the French and German, more affluent students were at least three times more likely to get the top grade as their less advantaged peers.
The only subject analysed in which the difference was less than half was music, with 9 per cent of non-FSM students getting an A* last year compared with 5 per cent of FSM students.
‘Simply unacceptable’
“It’s simply unacceptable that young people from poorer backgrounds are more likely to drop out of A levels altogether than achieve top grades in some subjects,” Mr Toop said.
“This isn’t about talent, it’s about opportunity. We know that great teachers make the difference: when the best teachers are in the schools that need them the most, pupils stay, thrive and succeed.”
David Scales, principal of Astrea Academy Woodfields in Doncaster, said: “Too many disadvantaged pupils are still more likely to drop out of A levels than achieve top grades in Stem [science, technology, engineer and maths]. It’s not that they have lower ability in these subjects, but that their access is limited far earlier on.”
He added: “Government must invest in better pay and targeted support to get the best Stem teachers into the schools that need them most.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said that “shifting the dial on entrenched attainment gaps will take time, but through our Plan for Change we have made good progress to tackle the root causes that we know are holding young people back”.
The spokesperson cited the curriculum and assessment review, RISE school improvement teams and free breakfast clubs as some of the ways the government is driving “high and rising standards”.
However, they acknowledged that there is “further work to do”, and added that the DfE is launching a schools White Paper, setting out its plans, later this year.
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