Industry News

State schools 'failing to meet GCSE targets'

Posted on 21st August 2007

Over a third of state schools are failing to meet basic GCSE targets according to figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats, a newspaper has reported.

The figures show in 34 per cent of state secondaries the majority of children are gaining fewer than five good GCSEs, the Daily Mail writes. The government's targets are for 80 per cent to achieve at least that.

However, the newspaper reports fewer than 60 per cent of pupils are meeting this standard currently.

A good pass is anything at grade C or above.

In July this year, the Liberal Democrats revealed proposals to tackle inequality in Britain. They included a "pupil premium" targeting £1.5 billion more at children from poorest backgrounds.

The party claimed its "aspiration is that the most deprived pupils have the same financial backing as those privileged enough to go to private school".