Calls for ‘student premium’ to support disadvantaged young people after GCSEs

Social mobility groups say post-16 funding gap risks young people falling out of education, work and training

A coalition of 14 social mobility organisations is urging the government to fund a “student premium” to support disadvantaged young people post-16 and prevent them from “falling through the cracks” into joblessness.

State-funded schools in England currently receive additional pupil premium funding to support children from low-income backgrounds, who are eligible for free school meals.