Report: School Performance of White Pupils Slipped Since Pandemic

Findings revealed that by the end of primary school, Chinese pupils were 10.7 months ahead of white British pupils and Indian pupils 8.8 months ahead.

Pupils at Williamwood High School sit exams in Glasgow, Scotland, on Feb. 5, 2010. Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

White British pupils across several education phases have performed worse than their peers, a report has suggested.

An Education Policy Institute (EPI) report has examined the attainment gap in schools in England before the pandemic and last year.

It found that many ethnic groups outperformed White British pupils—the largest ethnic group—as they progressed through schooling.

“Between 2019 and 2022, higher-attaining ethnic groups have generally pulled further away from White British pupils across education phases, whilst pupils from lower-attaining ethnic groups have generally narrowed the gap—except White and Black Caribbean pupils,” the report said.

The EPI considered the longer-lasting impacts of the pandemic on attainment gaps for cohorts aged 5, 11 and 16 in 2022.

At age five—when children start primary school—Chinese, White Irish, White and Asian and Indian pupils were all ahead of their White British peers.

Gypsy Roma pupils and Irish Traveller pupils were the lowest-attaining groups at the age of five.

By the end of primary school, Chinese pupils were 10.7 months ahead of white British pupils and Indian pupils 8.8 months ahead.

Pupils who did better at GCSE exams have pulled further away from White British children before and after the pandemic.

An exception was made during the pandemic for students taking their GCSE exams, when results were based on teacher assessments instead of exams. This year marked the return to pre-pandemic assessments and grading.

Official data showed a 4.3 percent drop in this year’s top-grade results.

The report called on the Department of Education to clarify why some ethnic groups were more affected by the pandemic. This includes pupils from White and Black Caribbean backgrounds.

The government should look into the impact of poverty and pupil absence, “which are known to vary by ethnicity,” the EPI said.

As children progress in their education and career, their prospects also vary based on ethnicity.

A social mobility report, released in August, showed that children of Chinese background perform significantly better than their White British peers across various aspects of education and career prospects.

Disadvantage Gap

The EPI has acknowledged the disruption to education caused by the pandemic and said it disproportionately affected poorer pupils.

The disadvantaged pupils - those eligible for free school meals for at least 80 percent of their time at school—are likelier to do worse than their peers.

The report suggested that the effect of a disadvantaged background showed as early as the age of five.

Disadvantaged pupils, starting primary school, were already 4.8 months behind their peers in 2022. This represents a broader gap than before the pandemic.

Between 2011 and 2018, there was a period of decreasing inequalities. This changed with the pandemic.

In 2022, the disadvantage gap for pupils finishing primary school was 10.3 months. By the end of secondary school, the gap was over 18.8 months.

The EPI called on the government to clarify what it plans to do about the damage done by the pandemic to equality in education.

There should be more funding for the disadvantaged, said the institute.

Persistently disadvantaged pupils are “now almost two years behind non-disadvantaged pupils, and four additional months behind the wider group of all disadvantaged pupils, by the time they take their GCSEs,” the report said.

It also called for more support for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The institute warned that “there has been no progress in closing the gap for these groups in recent years.”

Over the decade, older pupils with SEND showed better progress in narrowing the gap than pupils, who are just starting school.

The report recommended that educators need to improve early identification of SEND in young children. It said this could be done via thorough screening checks during reception year.