Students’ 2021 exam results in jeopardy

Over half (53%) of teachers with students due to take exams next year claim their students are not on track to get the results they are capable of, new polling has revealed.

This figure rises to 66% in deprived schools with the most children receiving free school meals.

Local lockdowns will widen the gap between the most and least privileged – over half of teachers (60%) in the most deprived schools feel they cannot provide the resources needed for home study, whereas less than 1% (0.4%) of teachers in private schools say their students are not equipped to learn from home.

The polling also revealed that 81% of headteachers stated that they do not have access to the funding needed to fully equip pupils who will take exams in 2021 with the physical textbooks and/or workbooks required to succeed.

Chief Executive of the Publishers Association, Stephen Lotinga, said:

“Teachers need access to the best possible tools to properly educate our children in the classroom and at home in these unprecedented times.

“Many pupils, particularly those from the most deprived backgrounds, will fail to achieve the exam results they are capable of and see their life chances harmed unless action is taken.

“The government must urgently provide schools with additional funding to ensure that young people have access to the digital learning platforms and textbooks needed.

“There is no reason why a child attending a school in a deprived area shouldn’t have access to the same resources as those in the most privileged schools.”