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14 April 2026

Tag: social mobility

Gaming app claims to help children’s cognitive self-regulation

A mobile phone app that encourages parents to play games at home with their children shows promise in closing the gap between advantaged and disadvantaged pupils, according to a new study, although concerns have been raised over the small number of parents included in the research. A randomised control trial of 144 families evaluated by researchers at the […]

The social capital of a private education

Privately educated pupils earn more – but they also get better “quality” jobs. Why is that, ask Anna Vignoles and Francis Green The role of private schooling has been controversial in England for many decades. Despite being a relatively small part of the school sector (about 7 per cent of pupils), private schools have an […]

Forget grammars! Sixth-form colleges are engines of social mobility

The government should consider how greater investment in sixth-form colleges could drive up standards, says James Kewin Sixth-form colleges share the government’s ambition to create an education system that works for everyone, not just the privileged few. But the plans unveiled earlier this month to achieve this are flawed and incomplete. Flawed because they overplay […]

To halt the decline in arts A-levels, government needs to change its story

There has been a steep decline in A-Level entries to arts subjects this year. Lorenza Antonucci has a hypothesis about why this might be While a record number of students have been accepted onto degree courses in the UK this year, the recent A-level results also reveal that labour market returns play a large part […]

Poorer pupils less likely to do apprenticeships

Free school meals students across every region of England are less likely to access apprenticeship schemes than their wealthier peers, research from Teach First has found. The education charity is calling for apprenticeships to be made more inclusive, after finding that young people from sufficiently low income backgrounds to qualify for free schools meals are […]

‘Social need’ free schools would combat racist abuse in classrooms, charity claims

Allowing free schools to open where there is a “social need” would increase community integration and help prevent racist abuse in classrooms, a free school campaign group has claimed. The New Schools Network (NSN) has today released an analysis of exclusion data that reveals 20 children are excluded from school each day for racist abuse, arguing that […]

Forget opening more grammars, get PRIVATE schools to open up instead

There are more imaginative ways to improve social mobility than opening more grammar schools, explains former political advisor Adam McNicholas I’m 30. In the not too distant future, I might have kids. Friends of mine are starting. Soon, when we get together, discussions will shift from plans for weekends away to plans for dealing with […]

Fears of ‘free-for-all’ as government opens up free school bid criteria

New free schools will be allowed to open if their proposers can demonstrate a “social need” or “significant demand” from parents under new changes announced by the government which have sparked fears of a “free-for-all”. The Department for Education has released updated guidance on the application criteria for bids from sponsors, marking a significant departure […]