Private and state school pupils’ GCSE results are now the same, study finds

It has long been assumed that the private sector outperforms the state sector in GCSE exams, but a UCL professor argues this doesn’t account for vast socioeconomic differences. Photograph: David Davies/PA

Pupils in England who attend fee-paying schools no longer outperform their state school peers in core GCSEs once results are adjusted for socioeconomic background, according to a new study.

Researchers say the findings indicate state school students are making strong progress in science, maths and English, reflecting the past two decades’ curriculum priorities, but they still lag behind in the creative arts.