England's class-ridden schools must do better

England's education system is among the most class-ridden in the developed world, a study claims.

The Government commissioned research compared English schools with 20 high performing systems abroad.

It found a stronger link here than in other countries between academic success and parental background.

Pupils eligible for free school meals were less than half as likely to get five or more A* to C grade GCSEs compared to other pupils.

The report, by global consultancy firm McKinsey, highlighted several other areas of concern, including a lack of rigorous qualifications, falling reading standards, patchy teaching and low expectations of pupils.

And improvements in attainment 'can be seen to be levelling off'.

The study emerged a day after the Tories published a report claiming that poorer pupils were in many respects becoming worse off under Labour.

The McKinsey researchers said: 'Evidence suggests performance still has a stronger link to socio-economic background than is the case in the world's best systems.'

They went on to criticise the education system for 'not yet delivering consistently world-class teaching for every student, in every classroom in every school'.

And the report added that England was rated less highly than many other countries studied for the expectations placed on students.

High aspirations for children was a 'key attribute of high-performing systems', but England was only judged 'fair' in this area.

'There is also evidence that academic content and standards are not fully meeting the demands of employers and universities,' the report said.

Meanwhile, England's comparative position in primary reading slipped between 2001 and 2006, it noted.

The researchers noted that the school system in Finland ensures that the highest calibre teachers work with students from the poorest homes.

Teachers in the country are generally recruited from the top 10 per cent of university graduates and all are required to have a masters.

Meanwhile in Ontario, Canada, education authorities had managed to forge close links between policy-makers and the teaching profession.

Schools Minister Lord Adonis says more needs to be done to ensure England's education system becomes world-class

However, the report said 'many school reforms implemented in England are shown to be world-leading' and aspects of England's school system can still be rated as 'good' or 'world-class'.

The other 18 countries in the study have not yet been named.

Schools Minister Lord Adonis said: 'We know we have more to do to make our schools system truly world class.

'That's why we are taking action to make sure that we attract the highest quality graduates into teaching, and to give them the highest quality initial training and continuous professional development throughout their careers.

'We are also turning teaching into a Masters-level profession with the development of the Masters in Teaching and Learning.'

A spokesman for his department said: 'We do not accept the inevitability of pupils' socio-economic backgrounds shaping their attainment and their futures; nor will we accept this as an excuse for low or under-performance in schools.'

He said that between 2003 and 2007 the gap between those from low income homes and those from more affluent homes closed by three percentage points for English and maths at age 11 and similar improvements have been seen in secondary schools.