High pupil attainment adds £1.3 billion to economy, says DfE study

The study, ‘GCSEs, A levels and apprenticeships: their economic value’, found that having  5 A* to C grade GCSEs adds an average £60,000 to an individual’s lifetime productivity, particularly if the pupil achieves high grades in English and maths.

When scaled up to reflect the large increase in pupils getting these grades since 2010, this represents an estimated £1.3 billion boost to the country’s economy. Since 2010 the number of pupils leaving school with qualifications at this level has increased from 44.1 per cent to 47.8 per cent, equivalent to an additional 21,600 pupils. A large number of these pupils come from disadvantaged backgrounds; the proportion of these pupils leaving school with strong qualifications has risen from 27.5 per cent to 32,9 per cent, equivalent to 7,150 pupils. Education Secretary Nicky Morgan hailed the findings, saying: “This confirms the rise in pupil success is not only benefitting young people themselves but is also a valuable part of our long-term economic plan.

“800,000 more pupils are in good or outstanding schools and thousands more are getting solid GCSE grades – a testament to the hard work of schools and teachers.

“But we won’t stop here – our plan is determined to raise standards further, help teachers to push our young people to do even better and help even more to fulfil their potential.”

A large proportion of the increased performance is among disadvantaged pupils. Since 2010 the proportion of these pupils leaving school with this good package of qualifications has risen from 27.5 per
cent to 32.9 per cent.

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