Published by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, the statistics show that 26.9 per cent of students eligible for FSM achieved five A* to C GCSE grades including maths and English compared to 54.4 per cent of those not eligible. The gap of 27.5 percentage points has decreased slightly from 27.8 last year and 28.1 in 2006.
Last month CYP Now reported that pupils on free school meals are almost three times as likely to leave school without basic qualifications than wealthier students.
Schools minister Vernon Coaker said that while the gap had narrowed this area remains a top priority for the government. He said: "This year has seen huge sustained rises in GCSE results with more children across the country achieving good results, regardless of ethnicity, class or special education needs (SEN).
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