A new cohort study is tracking thousands of 16-year-olds across England to measure how the pandemic widened gaps in education and life chances. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted schooling for an entire generation, but the scale of the damage—and how it differs by family background, gender, and ethnicity—remains unclear. Existing data sources cannot capture the full picture of what happened to pupils who sat GCSEs during lockdowns and then tried to move into further education, higher education, or jobs. This study fills that gap by collecting fresh data directly from pupils, parents, and schools, linked to official education records. If the research succeeds, it will give policymakers precise evidence on which groups fell furthest behind and why. That could shape how schools, colleges, and training programmes target catch-up support, admissions policies, and career guidance for years to come. The study also lays the groundwork for following these young people into adulthood, so researchers can track whether pandemic-era inequalities persist into careers and earnings—or fade over time.
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How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected socioeconomic inequalities in life chances, in terms of short-term effects on educational attainment and well-being, and long-term educational and career outcomes? This study will provide immediate findings to this and related research questions about the impact of the pandemic on educational inequality by SES, gender and ethnicity by designing, analysing, reporting on, and archiving two annual waves of a high-quality new cohort study of pupils in year 11 in academic year 2020-21 across England. This brand new resource will collect data from pupils, parents and schools, augmented with administrative data from DfE's NPD and other sources. Moreover, it will provide the start of a long-term resource for the research community to explore medium/long-term effects as participants move into further and higher education, and the labour market (with planned LEO consent questions). Led by Dr Jake Anders, with Professor Lindsey Macmillan and Dr Gill Wyness (UCL CEPEO), Professors Lisa Calderwood and Alissa Goodman (UCL CLS) and Carl Cullinane (Sutton Trust), with Kantar as lead fieldwork agency, the team combines world-leading expertise in educational inequalities, social mobility, analysis of longitudinal data, and the design and management of cohort studies. Our bid is supported by key stakeholders, including DfE, ADR UK, EEF, TASO, OfS, and HEAT to ensure co-production of policy-relevant evidence. This study will fill an important gap in understanding of the medium and long term effects of COVID-19 on young people completing their education and moving into the labour market at this unprecedented time.
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