1. Life Chances and Educational Achievement in the UK: A Research and Policy Overview Alice Sullivan and Geoff Whitty Institute of Education

2. Introduction Education, life chances and quality of life Origins and destinations linked via educational credentials Class, gender and race/ethnicity, differences in schooling and educational attainment Need for policy focus on class, albeit not neglecting other influences

3. The SEG gap in early years Source: Feinstein (2003)

4. Social Class Economic, cultural and social capital

5. Gender Education gap in favour of girls Labour market gap still favours men

6. 1+ A-C GCSE

7. 8+ A-C GCSE

8. Race/ Ethnicity How much is accounted for by background variables? How much is accounted for by school processes? High minority ethnic investment in education

9. Schooling Home matters more, but school matters Methodological difficulty in isolating school effects Problems faced by schools in poor areas

10. Choice and Diversity Concerns about segregation and selection

11. Implications Need for better data Clear impact of social class 5 Year strategy focus on class welcome But not sufficiently followed through

12. Positive discrimination needed for schools in poor areas Importance of social and academic mix requires action on admissions Inequalities cant be addressed through education alone Social mobility not an adequate goal.