Trends in educational inequality in England, 2000–2024
EERC Working Paper · April 2026
Abstract
This paper documents trends in educational inequality in England over the period 2000–2024. Using successive cohorts of the National Pupil Database (NPD), we track gaps in attainment at ages 7, 11, 16, and 18, and in participation in post-16 education, by socioeconomic background, ethnicity, and local area deprivation. We examine how these gaps have changed across the period, and consider the extent to which they can be attributed to changes in school composition, policy, and the wider economic environment.
We find that gaps by socioeconomic background at age 16 narrowed modestly between 2000 and 2015, but have been broadly stable since. Gaps by ethnicity have narrowed more substantially for some groups, particularly pupils of Bangladeshi and Black African heritage. Geographic variation in inequality has increased over the period, with gaps between the most and least deprived local authorities widening at the secondary level.
Key findings
- The free school meal attainment gap at GCSE narrowed by around 4 percentage points between 2006 and 2016, but has not improved materially since.
- Ethnic minority pupils’ attainment has converged with or surpassed White British pupils in several groups, though gaps remain for some communities.
- Regional inequalities in attainment have grown since 2015, with coastal and former industrial areas showing the largest gaps relative to urban centres.
- Post-16 participation gaps by socioeconomic background have narrowed, driven by growth in further education and apprenticeship take-up among disadvantaged groups.