Attainment gap study

A Summary of the Attainment Gap Study

Here we look at a recent attainment gap study, led jointly by University College London and the Sutton Trust. The study tracked 13,000 pupils in England through the pandemic and aims to follow them in the coming years.

As you have probably guessed, the study concluded that Covid had a severe impact on widening the existing academic attainment gap. Here we have summarised some key findings for you.

  1. Firstly, four out of five teenagers said their academic progress had suffered because of the pandemic.
  2. Sadly, state school pupils were twice as likely to feel they had fallen behind their peers in private schools.
  3. Half of the 16- and 17-year-olds felt the Covid disruption had left them less motivated to study.
  4. 45% of pupils felt they have not been able to catch up with lost learning.
  5. Worryingly, 64% said their education plans had changed as a result of the pandemic.
  6. 37% of state school pupils felt they had fallen behind their classmates, compared with just 15% in the independent sector.
  7. 96% of independent school pupils had live online lessons in the first lockdown, compared with 65% of state school pupils.
  8. In addition, there were regional differences to online learning and live online lesson availability. Both were significantly more available in London and the south of England compared to the north and Midlands.
  9. 41% of Year 11 pupils in state schools reported being offered some type of tutoring with 27% taking it up,
  10. 52% of students in independent schools were offered extra tuition.

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