Coalition aims to 'transform life chances for disadvantaged pupils'

December 29 2010

Children from wealthy homes are nearly twice as likely to do well in their GCSEs as students from disadvantaged backgrounds, new figures show.

Statistics obtained by Conservative MP Jesse Norman revealed that the gap in standards between pupils is most noticeable when they reach the ages of 11 and 16, the Daily Telegraph reports.

Mr Norman said the figures were a "damning indictment of 13 years of Labour failure on education".

"Social mobility stalled despite Labour's promises to improve social justice," he commented.

"A primary goal of the coalition government is to transform the life chances of the most disadvantaged."

This is why the pupil premium has been introduced, which will target resources at the most needy, Mr Norman added.

The e-Learning Foundation revealed this week that more than a million schoolchildren in Britain do not have a computer at home.

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