DISADVANTAGED pupils from Worcestershire secondary schools performed worse across eight key subjects than their peers.

Department for Education figures show disadvantaged children in Worcestershire secondary schools received an average score of 31.9 out of 90 points for ‘Attainment 8’ in 2022-23, while their peers achieved a much higher score of 48.3.

This follows the overall disadvantage gap trend across England, which experts said got worse after the pandemic.

Disadvantaged pupils include pupils known to be eligible for free school meals in any of the spring, autumn, or summer terms.

The grades measure pupils' performance in eight GCSE-level qualifications.

The attainment gap in Worcestershire was 16.4 points – higher than the average for the country, which is 15.3.

However, the attainment gap in Worcestershire remained almost unchanged from 2018-19, the last full school year before the pandemic.

Robin Walker, MP for Worcester, said he believes it is more important to judge schools on progress figures rather than attainment figures.

Mr Walker said: "A lot depends on the cohort coming into the school and where they started from. I was pleased to see Nunnery Wood High School in Worcester being one of the top performers in the county when it came to progress.

"What we see nationally is the attainment gap widened very significantly since 2019, having improved every year since 2011 and 2019, it has widened a lot as a result of the pandemic.

"If Worcestershire schools have kept the attainment gap at the same level, it is actually a very good outcome as it means that disadvantaged pupils in Worcester are doing much better than elsewhere in the country.

"Nobody wants there to be a disadvantaged gap, but the fact it has stayed in a similar place whereas rising elsewhere, is a testament to the hard work of our schools in trying to close this gap."

The overall attainment score for all secondary school pupils in Worcestershire was 44.8 points – lower than in 2018-19, when it was 46.6. The average score achieved across secondary schools in England was 46.2.

Worcestershire pupils whose first language is not English scored an average of 47.3 points. This was higher than native speakers’ results, who got 44.7.