A consultation has now launched on how the premium should be applied and what indicators of poverty will be used.
Education Secretary Michael Gove said: "Children from poorer backgrounds, who are currently doing less well at school, are falling further and further behind in the qualifications race every year. That in turn means that they are effectively condemned to ever poorer employment prospects and narrower social and cultural horizons."
He added that the latest figures show that out of 80,000 pupils eligible for free school meals only 45 were accepted at Oxbridge. Just a quarter of pupils eligible for free school meals achieve five A*-C GCSE grades, compared with more than half of those who are not eligible.
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