Schools are now more segregated by poverty than 10 years ago when Labour had just come to power, Government figures indicate.

Most areas saw an increase in the division of pupils, by school, depending on whether on not they took free school meals. The data also shows that, by race, Pakistani and Bangladeshi pupils are the most segregated between schools.

A report released by the Department for Children, Schools and Families, analysed statistics on school composition.

It found: “Grammar schools have a lower than average incidence of pupils eligible for free school meals and pupils classified as special educational needs.

“But they have a higher than average incidence of ethnic minority pupils, largely due to higher than average number of Indian pupils.”

Some local authorities which had grammar schools saw a huge influx of secondary school pupils from neighbouring areas, the report said. In four council areas which had selective schools, more than 60 per cent of the secondary school intake came from other authorities.

The report added: “On average, selective local authorities gained above-average attaining pupils in Year 7 and lost low-attaining pupils.”

The research considered the extent to which children from deprived backgrounds were concentrated in particular schools.

It found: “The level of segregation by free school meal, in primary and secondary schools, increased for most local authorities between 1999 and 2007.

“Nationally, Pakistani and Bangladeshi pupils were the most segregated between schools. However black African and black Caribbean pupils were more segregated between local authorities.”

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