A new report by the Education Policy Institute (EPI),has found that poorer students in sixth forms and colleges trail their more affluent peers by as many as three A level grades when taking qualifications at this level.

The new exploratory research finds that the disadvantage gap – the gap in educational attainment between poorer students and their peers – is substantial during the 16-19 education phase, with poorer students continuing to see far worse educational outcomes than their better off peers.

To date, most existing research on the disadvantage gap in education has focused almost entirely on the outcomes of pupils at secondary school level and below. There has been very little understanding of what the gap is after this age, for those older students enrolling in sixth form or college.

The EPI research, which is based on an entirely new, provisional methodology, brings into sharp focus the extent of educational inequality among older students at this critical period in their lives, just as they enter adulthood.

The disadvantage gap at this education phase is found to vary considerably across the country: poorer students are the equivalent of five whole A level grades behind their more affluent peers in some areas of England. In other areas, poorer students are level with, or even ahead of, their more affluent peers.

The 16-19 education phase includes students in sixth forms and colleges covering those taking qualifications including A levels, and vocational, technical and lower-level qualifications.

With disadvantaged students shown to face further attainment losses at this phase, on top of those previously experienced in school, the new findings also provide evidence for the need for new interventions aimed at reducing the gap in 16-19 education.

To prevent disadvantaged sixth form and college students from falling further behind, the report concludes that there is a strong case for additional government funding for 16-19 education. Targeted funding is needed to address learning losses caused by the pandemic, which are likely to disproportionately impact the poorest, and will have likely exacerbated the already large disadvantage gap among students at this stage of education.

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