Fresh challenge over poor pupils

This BBC news story reports on a study by the Scottish Executive investigating the link between poverty and achievement in schools. It shows that children from poorer backgrounds are still being out-performed by their better off counterparts, with the "difference in educational attainment between the 15% most deprived areas and the whole of Scotland [being] the equivalent of two Standard Grades."

The report also found that these children had higher levels of absences and were less likely to leave school with qualifications.