Collins makes warning over private and state school gap

Sir Kevan Collins has voiced his concern that the ‘educational legacy of Covid could be growing inequality’ after data highlighted a gap in A-level results between state and private school students.

Collins, who resigned in June over a lack of funding for his school recovery proposals, told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme that there was a ‘huge risk’ of widening social gaps in education in the aftermath of the pandemic.

A-level results on 10 August showed record levels of top grades. For independent school pupils in England, 70 per cent of A-level results were A* or A, compared with 39 per cent for comprehensive pupils.

It should be pointed out that independent schools, which account for about 16 per cent of A-level students, got higher results before the pandemic - but the gap has widened. According to Ofqual figures, in 2019 there was a 24 percentage point gap between independent schools and comprehensives in A* and A grades at A-level - this year it has risen to 31 percentage points.

Sir Kevan Collins also warned of a widening gap between different regions across the UK. He warned that parts of the north of England were falling behind. In London almost 48 per cent of results were A* and A grades, compared with 39 per cent in the North East.

Since the results were made public there have been increasing calls for changing the grading system, such as adopting the 9 to 1 system used in GCSEs. However, as Paul Whiteman, of the National Association of Head Teachers, pointed out, any such major change would require ‘meaningful consultation to ensure the fairest system for students’.