CORNISH children are being left behind as low school attendance and underachievement continue to plague the South West – with the region recording some of the worst educational outcomes in the country, a new report warns.

According to the South West Social Mobility Commission’s annual review, school attendance remains a “critical concern” across the region. Although most absences are authorised by schools, the report highlights a deepening problem, especially among disadvantaged children.

While outcomes in Cornwall are slightly better than the South West average, they remain below the national standard. More worryingly, the county’s post-16 education outcomes have declined since 2019, placing further strain on efforts to close the opportunity gap for local children.

The commission’s report, compiled by researchers from the University of Exeter, shows only 39 per cent of disadvantaged 11-year-olds across the South West reached expected levels in reading, writing and maths in 2024 – a marginal improvement from 38 per cent in 2023, but still far below the pre-pandemic rate of 46 per cent.

Disadvantaged pupils in Cornwall are achieving better than some of their regional peers, but the county is still struggling to lift children out of long-term educational disadvantage. GCSE results and progression to higher education remain stubbornly low.

“Missing too much school scars children for life,” said Professor Lee Elliot Major, co-author of the report. “The key is to bridge a growing divide between some parents and communities and the school system. This will work best when there is an approach tailored to the South West.

“Government work to break down barriers to opportunity will only succeed if this is delivered at a regional level, to cater the specific obstacles faced by children in different areas of the country.”

Regionally, children eligible for free school meals are more likely to miss school than those in other parts of the country. In primary schools, absence for these pupils reached nine per cent, compared to eight per cent nationally. Secondary school absence was 17 per cent, three points higher than the national average.

Cornwall’s overall school performance, while not the worst in the region, still reflects a broader South West trend of persistent absence, poor outcomes for disadvantaged children and limited progression to higher education. The region now has the lowest rate of young people moving on to university in the country, at just 19 per cent, compared with 29 per cent nationally.

Chair of the South West Social Mobility Commission, Karl Tucker, said: “As a society we are failing to ensure our young people have the best possible opportunity to fulfil their potential.

“There is an economic imperative for this as well as a moral one. I want every young person growing up in the South West to have a line of sight to opportunity, to develop in a way that provides them with the academic, vocational and soft skills required for the world of work and life in general, to have hope and to believe that they can and will fulfil their potential.”