Catholic schools accused of taking in too few poorer pupils

Catholic schools in England do not take enough pupils from low-income families, new analysis of admissions data suggests, writes Rose Gamble.

The analysis, conducted by education data analysis company SchoolDash, found that secondary faith schools, particularly non-Christian faith schools and Catholic schools, took an unusually low proportion of poor pupils compared to what would be expected in their areas.  

By comparing the number of pupils eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) at a particular school with levels of deprivation in an area, SchoolDash concluded that 46 per cent of Catholic schools took a lower proportion of poorer pupils than they would expect.

The Catholic Education Service insists that Catholic schools in England educate significantly more pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds than the national average.