Welsh Lib Dems raise concerns over widening gap between students from poor backgrounds and ‘better off’ counterparts

TODAY (11th December), the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats has raised concerns over the widening gap between students from poorer backgrounds and their better off counterparts.

A recent report from BBC Wales showed how students from poorer backgrounds are more likely to perform worse in their GCSEs alongside higher truancy and permanent exclusion rates.

Last week it was revealed that Wales had slumped to its lowest ever PISA results, with record low grades in Maths, English, and Science.

Commenting, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds said:

“Back in 2013, we as a party introduced the Pupil Development Grant which helped narrow the gap between students from poor backgrounds and those from better off backgrounds.

But now over a decade later, we are hearing that this gap has widened.

Students, regardless of their background, deserve to be given every chance at succeeding.

These statistics, cobbled together with the PISA results from last week, are proof that our educational system is facing a severe crisis that must be tackled before it’s too late.

Our teachers are performing admirably under such huge pressures and now is the time for the Welsh Government to step up and offer a helping hand.”