DISADVANTAGED children face some of the worst prospects growing up in Herefordshire compared with the rest of England, new research has revealed.

The Social Mobility Commission’s latest report into inequality in Britain found Herefordshire is in the bottom quarter of England’s 324 local authorities for social mobility.

They were ranked to assess the life chances of youngsters from deprived backgrounds, which the commission defines as those on free school meals.

The watchdog analysed children from nursery right up to university, and found there is huge variation in prospects for babies born into disadvantaged families depending on where they grow up.

In Herefordshire just 41% of five-year-olds eligible for free school meals achieve “a good level of development” by the time they are ready to start primary school, compared with 69% in the south London borough of Lewisham.

And only 32% go on to achieve the expected level in reading, writing and maths by age 11.

For those youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds who finish school at 18, 26% achieved two or more A-levels, or equivalent qualifications, and just 16% go to university. And the struggle that some of these children had at the start of their lives can impact them later on.

At least one in every eight children who was eligible for free school meals is not in education, employment or training by the age of 17.

According to the commission’s social mobility index Herefordshire was ranked number 271 out of England’s 324 local authorities, with Westminster coming top.

The report found that the worst performing areas for social mobility are no longer inner city areas, but remote rural and coastal areas, and former industrial areas.