Gap increasing between Scotland’s poorest and richest pupils

The data shows that across Scotland’s 32 councils, children in the least well-off areas are seven times less likely to get the grades needed for university compared to those from the most affluent areas.

The gap has increased by more than three percentage points from 2011 to 2014. In 2011, 17.4 per cent of the wealthiest pupils achieved three or more As, the benchmark for university entrance, compared to 2.5 per cent of the poorest pupils. In 2014, the number of wealthiest students who achieved three or more As increased to 21.13 per cent, while the number of poorer pupils saw a much smaller jump to 2.99 per cent.

Four council areas also saw none of the poorest 20 per cent achieve this benchmark and East Renfrewshire saw a 31.5 per cent gap between rich and poor.

Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Conservative leader, raised these figures to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. Davidson said: “We knew that the Scottish National party government was not closing the attainment gap. Now, from these figures, we know that the gap between the richest and poorest students is actually getting wider.

“The first minister has said that she wants to be judged on her record. In education, her record is one of failure, and the experts say that her plans will not fix it. I ask her: how bad do things have to get before we see the action that we need?”

Sturgeon responded: “I have made it very clear how serious I am about improving education in Scotland and closing the attainment gap. We are seeing evidence of the attainment gap in Scotland closing. That is not far enough or fast enough for my liking, which is why I am determined that we go further and faster.

“As Ruth Davidson knows, we are taking action, and we will continue to take action. I am not standing here saying that there is not more work to do – and I never have stood here and said that. That is why we have taken the action around the attainment challenge that I have already talked about.”

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