PUPILS on free school meals in Birmingham are succeeding in the classroom better than virtually everywhere else in the country.
New Government figures show that the city council is among the top ten authorities in the whole of England for helping the most deprived pupils gain good GCSE results.
The city came 9th out of England’s 150 local authorities for children on free school meals gaining five or more GCSEs at the top A* to C grade this year.
Out of a total of 3,782 free school meal pupils who took GCSEs this summer, 62 per cent hit the benchmark five A*-Cs, easily beating the national average of 49 per cent.
Birmingham is the only authority outside London that features in the top ten, and has more children on free school meals than any other council.
It also had more GCSE pupils eligible for free school meals this year than all the eight London authorities combined who, between them, totalled 3,116.
When English and maths are included, Birmingham came 26th nationally, with 33 per cent gaining five or more A*-C grades at GCSE compared to 27 per cent for England as a whole.
Tony Howell, Birmingham’s strategic director for children, young people and families, said: “This is testimony to the ethos and culture we have towards education in this city.
“We want children to do well wherever they live and whatever their socio- economic circumstances. Those who come from the poorest backgrounds often have the most to gain from the education system. A good set of qualifications is a passport to becoming a successful adult.”
Birmingham has an above average proportion of pupils on free school meals – 33 per cent compared to a national average of 14 per cent for 2007/08.
Currently 52,524 of the city’s 157,035 schoolchildren of all ages qualify for free dinners.John Hill, the city’s head of research and statistics, said: “Birmingham’s results for children eligible for free school meals are better than most other authorities, including the large urban authorities such as Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds and the other West Midland areas.
“Because of the size of Birmingham, we have more children on free school meals than any other authority in the country. Our ambition is to continue driving up standards across all groups in the city.”
Overall, 72 per cent of Birmingham’s GCSE pupils gained five or more A* to C grades compared to 70 per cent nationally.
