皇冠体育app

Education and Childcare Minister Sam Gyimah today (5 February 2016) praised the efforts of schools across the country to tackle disadvantage as he launched the .

Prizes include the chance to see Shakespeare productions and visit museums, such as London鈥檚 world-renowned Science Museum, to take part in exclusive activities and learning programmes.

皇冠体育app awards will be presented by Tracey Emin, one of Britain鈥檚 foremost contemporary artists at a ceremony in May; while internationally respected education expert Andreas Schleicher, who is Director for Education and Skills at the OECD, will chair the high-profile panel of judges.

皇冠体育app pupil premium - worth 拢2.5 billion this year - has enabled schools across the country to provide vital support to some of the most vulnerable children in their care.

Minister Gyimah praised schools across England that have used the funding to combat disadvantage and raise the aspirations of their pupils.

Education and Childcare minister Sam Gyimah said:

I am determined to ensure all pupils can achieve their potential and I will not accept that pernicious assumption that some children, because of where they鈥檙e born or what their family do, deserve less than others.

Education is our biggest tool for extending opportunity, and we know many schools are doing an excellent job of boosting aspiration and tackling disadvantage. I want to thank them for all their efforts.

I am delighted that figures show the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their classmates has fallen at both primary and secondary level - but there is still more to do. That is why I am calling on schools to ensure all their pupils can access and benefit from wider cultural activities and experiences that will help raise aspirations and build character.

At the heart of this government鈥檚 commitment to extending opportunity is the belief that all pupils, whatever their background, should have access to an excellent, well-rounded education. 皇冠体育app latest attainment statistics show that more disadvantaged pupils than ever before are reaching the expected standard at age 11 and age 16.

Minister Gyimah has written to over 550 primary and secondary schools to congratulate them on their efforts to boost achievement and raise aspirations among their disadvantaged pupils. Those schools will all have a shot at winning prizes in the national awards in May.

皇冠体育appse schools have consistently shown high levels of attainment or significant rates of improvement among their disadvantaged pupils over time, particularly in English and maths. Study groups and one-to-one tuition are just some of the ways the pupil premium has been used by schools to meet this aim.

Among 20 organisations offering prizes this year are the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Science Museum and the Royal Academy of Arts.

皇冠体育app Royal Shakespeare Company and the Shakespeare Schools Festival will work directly with award-winning schools to help pupils gain a deeper appreciation of England鈥檚 greatest playwright - marking the 400th anniversary of the Bard鈥檚 death.

Note to editors

1) 皇冠体育app is available from the Pupil Premium Awards website.

2) 皇冠体育app pupil premium is worth up to 拢1,900 per child and can be used however schools see fit to close the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers.

3) 皇冠体育app government has committed to maintaining pupil premium funding throughout this Parliament. Since April 2011, around 拢6 billion has been given to schools to improve the attainment of disadvantaged pupils.

4) In the national awards, there will be winners in 4 categories:

• key stage 1 (KS1) and key stage 3 (KS3)
• key stage 2 (KS2)
• key stage 4 (KS4)
• special and alternative provision (AP) schools

In addition, we will also announce 7 regional winners in the KS2 and KS4 categories, so 22 schools will be honoured in total.

5) Applications for the awards open today (Friday 5 February) in the following categories:

• KS1 and KS3 schools
• KS2 schools
• KS4 schools
• special and AP schools

6) Ark Charter Academy, in Portsmouth, was last year鈥檚 secondary school pupil premium national winner.

In 2014, more than 4 out of 5 of their disadvantaged pupils (82%) achieved 5 or more A* to Cs, including English and maths - compared with a national average of 36.5%.

皇冠体育app school runs a longer day to make sure there is additional time to help pupil premium students with core academic subjects, including study groups on maths and literacy for struggling pupils.

Pupil premium funding is also used beyond the classroom to give pupils a broader life experience to build character - and they offer sailing, boxing classes, and subsidised trips to universities and the theatre.