Fortunately Hodge kept her cool. But it was a pertinent question. There is a mounting body of evidence that shows that social mix matters when it comes to improving children's life chances. And the implications are challenging for policy makers.
Research shows that, when it comes to learning, the make-up of a school has a stronger impact on children's performance than a child's own background.
Having contact with children from a mix of backgrounds also seems to have a profound impact on overall performance.
Schools that have a high density of disadvantaged children have greater disciplinary problems, struggle to engage parents in learning and have generally lower expectations of pupil performance. The concentration of disadvantage appears to undermine efforts to provide the best learning environment for children.
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