The Social Exclusion Unit, which reviewed the Government's success in the area since it came to power in 1997, singled it out for priority action.
It said the picture was particularly bleak for children in care: only nine per cent of those looked after for a year or more gained five GCSEs at grades A*-C, and more than 50 per cent left care aged 16 or older without any qualifications.
However, it pointed out that more than two million children had escaped absolute levels of poverty since 1996/97, and that rises in employment levels meant that 300,000 fewer children were living in workless households.
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