Native English speakers being outperformed at GCSE level by those who speak it as second language

Students who do not speak English as their first language are out performing those who do

PA Wire/PA Images

Alexandra Richards26 January 2018

Native English speakers are being out performed at GCSE level by pupils who speak it as a second language, new figures reveal.

Pupils for whom English is not their first language have a higher attainment score than their native speaking peers.

Alongside this, non-native English speakers were shown to be making more progress in their classes than others for whom English is their first language.

The figures released by the Department of Education showed that one in eight mainstream secondary schools in England fell below the government’s minimum performance standards.

This year, 365 schools did not meet government standards compared to 282 last year.

The DfE said that it suspected that the rise in the number of schools failing to meet the “floor standard” was due to changes in how a schools performance is measured.

In previous years a school’s performance was measured based on the proportion of pupils achieving five grade A* to C grades at GCSE.

But this year, the previous point system was scrapped in favour of a system called Attainment 8 which scores schools based on eight GCSE subjects with heavier weighting applied to maths and english.

The Department of Education found that this year the average attainment score of non-native English speakers was 46.8 compared to 46.3 for native speakers.

Progress 8 which was introduced last year measures the progress of students from primary school through to GCSE level.

It compares current students with previous students with the same attainment score and then measures whether or not same progress is made in eight “core” qualifications as in the previous year.

This year native English speaking students were out performed by students who have a different first language.

School Standards Minister Nick Gibb said: "Academic standards are rising in our schools thanks to our reforms and the hard work of teachers, with 1.9million more children in good or outstanding schools than in 2010.