Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

One in 10 pupils removed from school rolls 'to boost GCSE results'

One in 10 pupils removed from school rolls 'to boost GCSE results'

‘Unexplained exits’ affected 61,000 pupils taking GCSEs in 2017, ‘off-rolling’ research finds
Research into “off-rolling” from schools in England has found the scale of the problem may be worse than previously thought, with one in 10 secondary pupils removed from the rolls without explanation.

Researchers from the Education Policy Institute (EPI) found that more than 61,000 pupils out of the national cohort who sat their GCSEs in 2017 experienced an “unexplained exit” at some point during their secondary school career. Of these, two out of five never returned to school again.

The overwhelming majority of those affected were from the most vulnerable groups, including pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), those receiving free school meals or those in the care of the local authority.

According to the EPI, while a proportion of those unexplained exits will be legitimate decisions made in the interests of the child, others are the result of schools – under pressure from government and amid increased scrutiny of league tables – deliberately gaming the system by offloading challenging students to boost GCSE results.

Mary Bousted, the joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said the EPI findings were shocking and called on the government to take action. “That pupils with complex needs are most likely to fall out of the school system shows that, as a country, we are failing our most vulnerable children.”

The education secretary, Gavin Williamson, said he had asked officials to look into the issue of off-rolling. “Obviously this is something that is always of concern; it’s something I have instructed the department to look into very closely,” he said.

Researchers found multi-academy trusts and local authority schools with higher than average unexplained exit rates. The report points out that all larger multi-academy trusts – with 10 schools or more – had above-average rates, while nearly all also had higher than average rates of permanent exclusion.

Pupils were at least twice as likely to experience an unexplained exit than the average in more than a dozen school groups. Rosedale Hewens academy trust in Hillingdon, west London, had the highest rates of unexplained exits by a significant margin, at six times the average.

The chair, Marie Ashley, denied that any pupils had been off-rolled, but explained that the trust offered a flexible approach to learning, which allowed some students longer to complete their GCSE courses, distorting figures but allowing an inclusive approach.

“This research shows that there are thousands of pupils in England routinely removed from schools with no apparent explanation,” the report’s author, Jo Hutchinson, said. “The overwhelming majority of exits from school rolls are experienced by more vulnerable pupils, such as those with special educational needs and disabilities.

“The government should reduce perverse incentives for schools and do more to promote inclusion – only then will it help to prevent those with more complex needs from being moved around the system.”

The study updates earlier EPI research, published in April and based on the same data, which found that 1 in 12 pupils (49,000 in total) from the 2017 cohort were removed from rolls at some point for unknown reasons. Researchers have since refined their methodology and say the new report presents a more accurate picture. The latest figures represent an increase of just over one percentage point from 2014.

Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “It is right to use this analysis to ask questions but we would urge commentators not to jump to conclusions about particular trusts or local authorities or to try to score political points.

“What is clear is that we need a system of measuring school performance which rewards the inclusion of vulnerable pupils rather than the current system which effectively penalises schools with inclusive intakes because these pupils tend to make less progress than their peers.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said it was against the law to remove pupils on the basis of academic results. “Any school that does this is simply breaking the law, but unexplained pupil exits is not the same as off-rolling … we will continue to work with Ofsted to tackle off-rolling in any setting.”
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
×