School places ballot could help close attainment gap, study suggests
(World News UK)

Ballots should be considered for allocating places at the country’s top state schools to give disadvantaged pupils more equal access, according to a new report. The study, published by the Sutton Trust, found the top performing 70 state schools in Scotland take half as many disadvantaged pupils as the national average and the school system is “highly socially segregated�. These top schools have an average of 8.2% of pupils who are registered for free school meals (FSM), about half of the average rate for all schools nationally (16.3%), the report found. The...