The Relationship between Social Deprivation, as Measured by Individual Free School Meal Eligibility, and Educational Attainment at GCSE in Northern Ireland: a preliminary investigation

Abstract The paper analyses the impact of socio‐economic status (SES) on academic attainment at the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) in Northern Ireland and evaluates the effectiveness of administrative use of free school meal variables at pupil and school level as an indicator of social deprivation. The results of the analysis show that free school meal eligibility at the pupil level is an adequate indicator of deprivation. They also point to a significant school SES contextual effect as measured by the percentage of pupils per school in receipt of free school meals. In the absence of data on prior attainment, the analysis shows that grammar school pupils on average have higher GCSE scores than secondary school pupils and suggests, personal/ family background and type of last school attended being equal, that Catholic pupils perform as well as those of other denominations.