Gibb: Attainment gap

Nick Gibb, the coalition’s schools minister, comments on the GCSE results and the performance of academies:

“While celebrating individual success and welcoming the fact that there has been an enormous take-up of GCSEs in the individual sciences, we believe that more needs to be done to close the attainment gap between those from the poorest and wealthiest backgrounds.

“The continued success of academies in some of the most challenging areas of the country shows what can be done. We are committed to expanding the number of academies as we need to do more to raise expectations and help ensure that all children, regardless of their backgrounds, can excel.

“That is why the coalition government is determined to drive ahead with our reform agenda: giving schools more freedom and professional autonomy; raising standards of behaviour in schools; creating a strong core curriculum which gives children the knowledge to think for themselves and allows teachers to inspire their pupils; raising the prestige of teaching and introducing the pupil premium to give support to the most disadvantaged students in the country.”