A research paper from the Centre for Research in Race and Education, due to be published in the British Educational Research Journal, claims that the introduction of tougher GCSE benchmarks for schools has had “a marked regressive and racist impact” that “served to maintain black disadvantage”.

The paper, which has been co-authored by Professor David Gillborn, director of the Centre for Research in Race and Education, compares the odds of white British and black Caribbean pupils meeting the benchmark over the 25-year period since GCSEs were introduced in 1988.

The research features in the Times Educational Supplement (TES: 11th August 2017).