Disadvantaged young people twice as likely to be unemployed five years after GCSEs

One in three poorer young people are not in sustained work or education five years after completing their exams, Aisha Rimi reports

Department of Education data reveals only one in four disadvantaged pupils go to university (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Disadvantaged young people are twice as likely to be out of work or education than their wealthier peers five years after finishing their GCSE exams, new analysis has revealed.

Analysis of recently published Department for Education (DfE) data, conducted by education charity Teach First, shows that one in three (33 per cent) poorer young people are not in any form of sustained work or education, apprenticeship or employment destination five years after completing their exams.

That compares to just one in seven (14 per cent) of their non-disadvantaged peers.