THE fight to close the learning gap between the most disadvantaged school pupils in York and the rest is high on the agenda for 2015.

According to City of York Council's cabinet member for education, Cllr Janet Looker, for a city where the quality of schooling at both primary and secondary level in general is so high across the board, the fact that some pupils are falling through the gap is "embarrassing".

She said that a conference at the council HQ West Offices in November when Government adviser, Sir John Dunford, the national Pupil Premium Champion, explored the issue and the council is looking to continue existing work on the subject in 2015.

Cllr Looker, said: "The work we have already done is showing some signs of improvement, but to make significant strides we are going to have to really focus on the issue this coming year and for me it's one of the most important things we should be doing.

"It's embarrassing that this group of children are being let down when York is a shining light when it comes to the quality of schools at primary and secondary level. It may be just three or four children in a school or only one or two, but the conference taught us that quite often it can be about improving the quality of life for those children."

She said some children who live in York have never been to a museum or even visited the Minster and schools can help to change that.

Cllr Looker said: "What I want to see is schools making sure that every child will go on a residential weekend and expand their minds."

Speaking ahead of the conference Jon Stonehouse, the council's director of children’s services, said: “Reducing the attainment gap is a key issue nationally and a key focus in York. As the national Pupil Premium Champion, Sir John has a huge amount of experience in how schools can maximise the impact of their pupil premium funding.”

Pupil Premium is the extra £900 funding that schools receive from the government per pupil who is classed as ‘disadvantaged’. Schools use the funding to improve the educational achievement of the pupils, reducing the attainment gap between them and their peers.

In York, the council is working closely with schools to minimise the attainment gap through their York 300 initiative. Research shows that pupils from poorer families who do not achieve expected levels at a young age are less likely to close the gap later in their education.

The initiative started in January this year with a pilot looking at 350 Year 5 pupils who were most at risk of failing at school.