Today’s news review looks at provisional GCSE performance data, showing the positive outcomes for disadvantaged pupils at grammar schools.
It also responds to a new report from the TUC on the gender pay gap.
Provisional GCSE performance data
Yesterday, 13 October, the Department published provisional GCSE performance data and provisional destinations for GCSE and A level pupils. The school level data is available here.
The results show that grammar school pupils progress faster and outperform children of a similar ability who attend non-selective schools.
In addition, children from disadvantaged backgrounds at grammar schools are almost twice as likely to go to a Russell Group university than better-off students at other schools.
Over seven in 10 (71%) of disadvantaged sixth formers at grammar schools go on to university compared with 56% at comprehensives.
The results were reported in the Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail and The Sun.
Education Secretary Justine Greening said:
We want to build a country that works for everybody, regardless of their background, and education lies at the heart of that.
Grammar schools reduce the attainment gap between rich and poor children. Today’s figures give us even more reason to make more of these good school places available in more areas.
Gender pay gap
Today, 14 October, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) released new research on the gender pay gap. This claims that women earn £85,000 less than men over the course of ten years by the time they are 50 years old.
This was reported in The Guardian, Daily Telegraph and Sky News, among other outlets.
A Government spokesperson said:
The gender pay gap is the lowest on record and is virtually eliminated among full-time workers under 40 but we are committed to eliminating it completely. That’s why we’re taking action by requiring employers to publish their gender pay and bonus gaps for the first time ever from April next year.
We are modernising the workplace through shared parental leave, doubling the amount of free childcare available to working parents and we are working with employers to make sure that women, no matter their age, have the support they need to stay in the workforce.
Follow us on Twitter and don't forget to sign up for email alerts.