Class divisions 'have not closed'

My Account
Logout

Create an Evening Standard Account

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Welcome! Sign in here

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Forgot your password ?

Registration

* indicates fields that are mandatory

Email *

Password *

Confirm Password *

First name *

Surname *

Postcode *

Country *

Mobile phone number

Username *

Gender *

Year of birth *

When you sign up...

You will have access to all our online competitions, discounted offers and can post comments on our site.

You will also receive The Weekender newsletter sent every Thursday - it’s full of fantastic offers and ideas for the weekend. You can update your email preferences in your account page when you log in.

Other newsletters and emails

Homes & Property Newsletter - Yes I want to receive the weekly email with all the latest news on property in the capital

Occasionally we would also like to send you relevant emails detailing specific offers either from ourselves or carefully selected partners. If you would prefer not to receive these then please tick the appropriate boxes below. We will never pass on your details.

I do not want to receive additional offers and information from the Evening Standard

I do not want to receive additional offers and information sent by Evening Standard on behalf of carefully selected partners

Terms and Conditions

* I have read, understood and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of Evening Standard

Registration

Mail Sent for Registration Confirmation.

A confirmation email has been sent. Please activate your account by clicking on the activation link sent in your mail box.

By the age of seven, bright children from poor homes will be overtaken academically at school by less gifted pupils with the wealthiest parents, according to the report from the London School of Economics.

The report, undertaken for the Sutton Trust education charity, warned that today's children face "stark inequalities".

"Parental background continues to exert a significant influence on the academic progress of recent generations of children," the report said.

Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the Sutton Trust, called for an independent inquiry into how to break down the UK's rigid class barriers.

He said: "Shamefully, Britain remains stuck at the bottom of the international league tables when it comes to social mobility."

Earlier this year, the then Education Secretary Alan Johnson said the Government's reforms since 1997 meant poor children were likely to have "a much better chance to escape the limitations of their background". The report cast doubt on this claim.

The study found 44% of young people from the richest fifth of the population qualified with a university degree in 2002. But only 10% from the poorest fifth of households graduated from university.

Children from the poorest fifth of households who score some of the best results in tests aged three have fallen behind by the age of five. By the time they are seven, these youngsters will have been overtaken by the pupils from the wealthiest homes who came bottom in the tests aged three.

Dr Jo Blanden, who wrote the report, said: "We cannot find any evidence that the sharp drop in mobility observed for children growing up in the 1970s and 1980s has continued. But nor can we find evidence that mobility has improved."