This London School of Economic research has highlighted educational disparities between privileged students and those from poorer backgrounds under the pandemic. It found that just 59 percent of pupils were benefitting from full schooling, but the rest are still not receiving the same number of teaching hours as they did before the pandemic hit.
The report finds that just four in 10 school pupils received full-time schooling during April, with a quarter receiving no teaching at all. In early October only around six in 10 pupils were experiencing full-time teaching.
During April, nearly three quarters (74%) of private school pupils were benefitting from full school days - nearly twice the proportion of state school pupils (38%).
Private school pupils were also five times more likely than state school pupils to have had at least four online lessons a day. They were also four times more likely to have spent more than five hours a day on schoolwork.
The research also highlights inequalities in higher education. University students from the lowest income backgrounds lost 52% of their normal teaching hours as a result of lockdown, but those from the highest income groups suffered a smaller loss of 40%.