Last Updated on November 3, 2026 by Karl Thompson
Contemporary examples are one of the easiest ways to pick up marks in the education essays. The AQA specification asks for differences in achievement “in contemporary society”, and examiners reward evidence that shows you know what education looks like now, not just what Willis found in 1977. A recent statistic used to support or criticise a theory counts as application (AO2) and, when it’s used to criticise, as evaluation (AO3).
Below are current examples for each part of the education topic. Each one gives the fact, where it comes from, and how to use it. The link in each row goes to the post where the example is covered properly.
Contemporary examples for the sociology of education (2026 update)
The role and functions of education
| Example | Source | Use it to… |
|---|---|---|
| In 2024, 87.6% of graduates of working age were employed, against 68.0% of non-graduates. 67.9% of graduates were in high-skilled jobs, against 23.7% of non-graduates. Median salaries: £42,000 against £30,500. (The functionalist perspective on education) | DfE, Graduate Labour Market Statistics, 2024 | Support role allocation. HOWEVER, about a third of graduates aren’t in high-skilled jobs, and the figures don’t control for family background, so they don’t show the sorting is meritocratic |
| 51.3% of apprenticeship starts in 2024/25 were by people aged 25 and over, and only 21.2% by under-19s. (The functionalist perspective on education) | DfE, Apprenticeships, 2024/25 | Criticise the idea that education sorts young people into their first jobs: most apprenticeships now train adults already in work |
| The persistent absence rate (pupils missing 10% or more of sessions) was 18.14% in 2024/25, up from 10.86% in 2018/19. Pupils eligible for free school meals were more than two and a half times as likely to be persistently absent. (The functionalist perspective on education) | DfE, Pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 | Criticise functionalist claims that school socialises all pupils into shared values; support the Marxist point that school works less well for poorer pupils |
| 6.3% of pupils in England go to independent schools, but 62% of senior judges were privately educated. (The Marxist perspective on education) | DfE, Schools, pupils and their characteristics, 2025/26; Sutton Trust, Elitist Britain, 2025 | Support the Marxist argument that education reproduces class inequality from one generation to the next |
Social class and achievement
| Example | Source | Use it to… |
|---|---|---|
| 27.5% of disadvantaged pupils got grade 5 or above in GCSE English and maths in 2025/26, against 54.3% of other pupils. The gap (26.8 points) was wider than before the pandemic (25.2 in 2018/19). (Social class and educational achievement statistics) | DfE, Key stage 4 performance, 2025/26 | Show the class gap is large and not closing; a starting point for any class essay |
| 28.6% of pupils who had free school meals went on to higher education by 19, against 48.4% of other pupils (2024/25). (Social class and educational achievement statistics) | DfE, Widening participation in higher education, 2024/25 | Show the gap carries on after school; link to cultural capital and immediate gratification |
| From September 2026, every pupil in a family on Universal Credit is eligible for free school meals. (Social class and educational achievement statistics) | Written ministerial statement; DfE | A methods point: more pupils will count as “FSM”, so future class statistics won’t be comparable with past ones |
Gender and achievement
| Example | Source | Use it to… |
|---|---|---|
| Girls are still ahead of boys at GCSE, but by less than many textbooks suggest: the gap in average Attainment 8 scores was 3.9 points in 2025/26. (Explaining the gender gap in education) | DfE, Key stage 4 performance, 2025/26 | Evaluate the “boys’ underachievement” debate: the gap is real but smaller than the moral panic suggests |
Ethnicity and achievement
| Example | Source | Use it to… |
|---|---|---|
| Average Attainment 8 scores in 2022/23: Chinese 65.5, Indian 59.4, Bangladeshi 51.9, Pakistani 47.0, White British 44.9, Black Caribbean 40.0 (all pupils 46.3). (How educational achievement varies by ethnicity) | Ethnicity facts and figures, GCSE results (Attainment 8), published November 2024 | Criticise any claim that “ethnic minorities underachieve”: most groups now score above White British pupils |
| White British pupils eligible for free school meals averaged 30.9, against 47.7 for Bangladeshi pupils eligible for free school meals (2022/23). (White working-class underachievement) | Same | Show that class and ethnicity interact: poverty seems to make more difference to White British pupils’ results than to other groups’ |
Relationships and processes within schools
| Example | Source | Use it to… |
|---|---|---|
| There were 913,000 suspensions and 9,900 permanent exclusions in England in 2024/25. Pupils eligible for free school meals were permanently excluded at more than six times the rate of other pupils (0.32 against 0.05 per 100). (Why do some children get excluded from school?) | DfE, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England, 2024/25 | Support labelling theory and the Marxist view that school works against working-class pupils; also a good Methods in Context example of official statistics |
| In January 2026, 6.0% of pupils had an education, health and care plan, up from 5.3% a year earlier, and 14.8% were on SEN support. (Education in the UK: key facts and stats) | DfE, Special educational needs in England, 2025/26 | A labelling example: the share of pupils labelled SEN has risen and fallen sharply over fifteen years, which suggests the label depends on how pupils are identified |
Educational policies
| Example | Source | Use it to… |
|---|---|---|
| 83.9% of secondary schools and 48.8% of primary schools in England were academies or free schools in January 2026. (Academies in England and Wales) | DfE, Schools, pupils and their characteristics, 2025/26 | Show how far marketisation and privatisation have gone, especially in secondary schools |
| The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 means academies will have to teach the new national curriculum (expected from September 2028), and new teachers in all state schools must have or be working towards qualified teacher status from September 2027. (Academies in England and Wales) | Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 | Evaluate marketisation: the current government is pulling academies back towards a single national system |
| The government announced on 4 November 2025 that the EBacc performance measure will be scrapped. (Education policies: a summary) | gov.uk, 4 November 2025 | Evaluate league tables and the narrowing of the curriculum under recent governments |
| The pupil premium is £1,515 per eligible primary pupil and £1,075 per secondary pupil (2025/26). The disadvantage gap index was 4.07 in 2011, when the pupil premium began, and 3.82 in 2026. (What is the pupil premium and how effective is it?) | DfE, Pupil premium 2025 to 2026: technical note; DfE, Key stage 4 performance, 2025/26 | Evaluate compensatory policies: fifteen years of extra funding has narrowed the gap only slightly |
| In 2025 total school spending per pupil in England was about the same in real terms as in 2010, after a 10% fall to 2019 and a 10% rise since. (Education in the UK: key facts and stats) | Institute for Fiscal Studies, Annual report on education spending in England 2025–26 | Evaluate claims about funding under recent governments, from either side |
| VAT at 20% has been charged on private school fees since 1 January 2025. (Arguments for and against private schools) | HM Treasury and HMRC, VAT on private school fees: technical note | A current policy example for private schools and equality of opportunity |
How to use contemporary examples in the exam
- Name the source and the year. “DfE figures for 2025/26 show…” is worth more than “statistics show…”.
- Use them to evaluate, not just to illustrate. The strongest use is after you’ve explained a theory: “HOWEVER, the 2024/25 absence figures suggest…”.
- Don’t let them replace the sociology. A statistic supports or challenges a theory; it isn’t an explanation on its own.
- Keep them current. An example from 2019 isn’t contemporary any more. Most of the figures above are updated every year.
Older examples
These are from 2018–2020 but still make their point, as long as you give the date:
- How to break into the elite: a documentary on how top employers look for cultural capital. Use it to support cultural capital theory.
- The academy trusts failing their schools: use it to evaluate academies and privatisation.
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Written by Karl Thompson, who taught A-level sociology for eighteen years and spent twelve as an AQA examiner, marking all three papers on the current specification.
Signposting and Related Posts
This post has been written for students studying AQA A-level sociology, Paper 1 (7192/1), Education with Theory and Methods.
- The education module: start here
- Education in the UK: key facts and stats
- AQA A-level Sociology Paper 1: every question type
- Sociology of education: all topics
Sources
- Department for Education: Graduate Labour Market Statistics (2024); Apprenticeships (2024/25); Pupil absence in schools in England (2024/25); Schools, pupils and their characteristics (2025/26); Key stage 4 performance (2025/26); Widening participation in higher education (2024/25); Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England (2024/25); Special educational needs in England (2025/26); Pupil premium 2025 to 2026: technical note.
- Ethnicity facts and figures (2024) GCSE results (Attainment 8).
- Sutton Trust (2025) Elitist Britain 2025.
- Institute for Fiscal Studies (2026) Annual report on education spending in England: 2025–26.
- Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 (legislation.gov.uk).
- HM Treasury and HMRC (2024) VAT on private school fees: technical note.
- AQA AS and A-level Sociology specification (7191, 7192), section 4.1.1.
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