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GCSE learning gap stands at 22.7 months for the most persistently disadvantaged

Looked-after children GCSEs and A Levels Narrowing the Gap Poverty Pupil Attainment & Progress Closing the gap
Disadvantaged students are 18.1 months of learning behind their peers by the time they take their GCSEs – a gap that rises to 22.7 months for those children living in the most persistent poverty, and 29 months for looked after children.


The news this week that the attainment gap at GCSE between disadvantaged students and their peers has stopped closing for the first time in 10 years has caused widespread concern.

What is more, the attainment gap at the end of primary school, which now stands at 9.3 months, has increased for the first time since 2007 – which it is feared may signal a future widening of the gap in secondary education.

What is more, the figures – which have been published in the Education Policy Institute’s (EPI) annual report (Hutchinson et al, 2020) – are based on 2019 data from before the Covid-19 lockdown.

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