Hansard

General Certificate of Secondary Education: Free School Meals

Volume 470: debated on Monday 7 January 2008

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Mr. Laws

To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of white British boys eligible for free school meals failed to obtain at least five GCSEs at any level in each year between 1996 and 2007; and if he will make a statement. (174196)

Jim Knight

The available information covers the proportion of pupils achieving 5 or more A*-C grades at GCSE or equivalent and are given in the table.

Percentage of white British boys eligible for free school meals who achieved five A*-C grades at GCSE or equivalent1, at maintained schools, 2002 to 2006

Percentage achieving 5 A*-C grades

Percentage not achieving 5 A*-C grades

20022

16.1

83.9

2003

16.8

83.2

2004

18.3

81.7

2005

21.0

79.0

2006

24.0

76.0

1 Based upon 15 year old pupils (age at start of academic year) for figures up to and including 2004. For 2005 onwards figures are based upon pupils at the end of Key Stage 4. 2 Figures for 2002 relate to pupils classified as 'white' rather than 'white British'.

Data are sourced from the National Pupil Database which began in 2002. The latest figures relate to 2006 where 90.9 per cent. of white British boys eligible for free school meals achieved any passes (9.1 per cent. achieving no passes). These figures are published in Table 32 of SFR46/2006 "National Curriculum Assessment, GCSE and Equivalent Attainment and Post-16 Attainment by Pupil Characteristics in England 2005-06, (Provisional)" which can be found at

http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000693/index.shtml.

Equivalent figures for 2006-07 will be published at the end of January 2008 as additional tables to SFR 38/2007 which can be found at

http://www.dfes.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000759/index.shtml .