Balanced schools - do they make a difference to social mobility?

There is research that indicates different forms of diversity help all students achieve better. But is there a tipping point for better educational achievement and higher social mobility outcomes?

We know that sorting of the school population is heavily influenced by parental choice. In some cases, parents choose to send their children to independent schools. Seven per cent of the secondary school population are educated in independent schools, but we know that these children come from the upper deciles of the household income distribution. In other cases, parents purchase houses in the catchment areas of very good state-funded schools. The proportion of disadvantaged pupils at the most academically successful state schools is low.

The Social Mobility Commission wants to understand the impact of social selectivity on educational attainment. We are also interested in the wider implications on young people and on society more broadly of the level of their schooling diversity. Ultimately, we are interested in the impact of social selectivity on social mobility.