Commenting on a new report from the University of Bristol, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, that looks at how school admissions policies affect children from disadvantaged backgrounds, Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said:

“It has always been a potential flaw of distance-based admissions that schools in more affluent areas become over-subscribed and more difficult for disadvantaged pupils to access. This report contains some interesting ideas about approaches that could be taken to mitigate that consequence.

“However, disadvantaged pupils’ chances of receiving the best education should not depend on attending over-subscribed schools further away from where they live. The government needs to fund all schools sufficiently so they can provide the best possible education irrespective of catchment area.

“If the government is serious about improving social mobility, they must look at school admissions as a priority and make strides to support all schools to provide a quality education, through funding and teacher recruitment, in order to improve fairness and access for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.”