Top performing schools continue to be socially selective, research suggests

The top performing comprehensive schools in England are continuing to be “highly socially selective”, new research shows.

According to the Selective Comprehensives 2017 report by the charity Sutton Trust, the top 500 comprehensive schools, based on GCSE attainment, are taking just 9.4 per cent of pupils eligible for free school meals.

In addition to this, research by the National Foundation for Educational Research shows that 85 per cent of schools in the top 500 admits less free school meal students than the proportion who live in their catchment area.

Despite this, the Selective report shows that the average proportion of disadvantaged pupils in the best schools is up to 9.4 per cent from 7.6 per cent in 2013.

The number of top schools with less than six per cent of disadvantaged pupils is also down from 57 per cent in 2013 to 39 per cent in 2016.

The research, which was released on National Offer Day, also finds that living in the catchment area of a top comprehensive school is associated with a house price ‘premium’ of around 20 per cent.

A typical house in the catchment area of a top 500 school (based on GCSE attainment) costs £45,700 more than the average house in the same local authority. The best schools measured using Progress 8 are associated with a much lower premium of 8.3 per cent or £18,200.

The research shows that faith schools are also among the most socially selective of top schools compared to their catchment area, with an average gap of six per cent, compared to two per cent.

As a result, the Sutton Trust has since called on the government to ensure that disadvantaged pupils have fair access to local state schools.

The charity believes this can be achieved by using ballots of banding, to ensure a wider mix have the possibility of attending the best schools.

This would also mean that families who can afford to buy houses in the right postcode are less able to “game” the system

The report also calls on the Government to make it easier for all parents to access information about schools admissions and applications, including ensuring that they have a full understanding of Progress 8 and further changes to GCSEs due this year.

Sir Peter Lampl, Sutton Trust chairman said: “Getting a place at a high attaining school is key to getting on in life. Yet the bottom line is your chances of doing that depends on your parents’ income and whether they can afford the extra £45,700 house premium to live in the catchment area.

“This is why we want to see more use of ballots – where a proportion of places is allocated randomly. Ballots would ensure that a wider mix of pupils would get into the best schools.”