EDUCATION

In the UK, the minimum educational standard for 16-year olds is five good passes (grade C or above) at GCSE, including Maths and English. In 2007, one in 14 children sat fewer than five GCSEs, so 44,000 children did not enter enough exams to qualify even for the minimum required standard.  Of nearly 600,000 children who sat the exams in 2007, less than half secured five good GCSEs.

Children in disadvantaged inner-city schools rarely perform as well as their counterparts in better schools.  Pupils living in the top quartile of affluent areas have a 70% chance of achieving five good GCSEs, compared with only 30% for pupils from areas in the bottom quartile.  As a result, few pupils of deprived backgrounds get the educational opportunities they deserve.

ARK believes that all children can achieve even in the most complex urban environments and that providing a high quality education is vital for a fair society that affords every child the full range of opportunities.