Gulf between schools in rich and poor Scotland revealed They published a book of articles from education experts calling for reform, with Keir Bloomer, who helped create the new Curriculum for Excellence, arguing schools may have to be taken out of local authority control. Speaking at a Holyrood inquiry, parents" groups also argued that removing schools from the country's 32 councils would save money at a time when the SNP is implementing cuts to education funding. Mike Russell, the Education Minister, has threatened universities with funding cuts if they do not recruit more pupils from poor areas but critics have said this ignores the fact so few are achieving the qualifications they need. The Scottish Funding Council report, titled Learning for All, found 31.1 per cent of all male pupils got three or more Highers in the 2012/13 academic year compared to only 14.1 per cent in the country's 20 per cent poorest areas. For girls, the figures were 41.2 per cent and 21.3 per cent respectively. Around 15 per cent of boys got one Advanced Higher but only 5.5 per cent in the most deprived communities. Among females the figures were 19.3 per cent and 7.4 per cent. Only in the wealthiest communities did more than 20 per cent of children get three or more A grades for their Highers. The report concluded it was "clear that there is still a significant attainment gap." Addressing the relatively small numbers going to university, it said: "Lower levels of school attainment among those from more deprived backgrounds is (sic) likely to impact on the ability of institutions to recruit students from these backgrounds." The report showed the proportion of children from the 20 per cent most deprived communities attending university increased to 13.3 per cent last year. Broken down by degree, the figures were 4.9 per cent for medicine and dentistry, 9.3 per cent for engineering and 10.5 per cent for law. Mr Bloomer said most children receive a good education but warned the lack of reform in Scotland meant it was falling behind other countries and lambasted SNP ministers" "tendency to self-congratulation." He said there was "slim" evidence to support the Scottish Government's claim that the gulf between the most and least successful pupils was closing, arguing instead there had been a "decline at all levels." The gap in maths and reading had increased between 2003 and 2012, he argued, while in science it had only closed because "performance at the highest level has dropped." The educationalist concluded that efforts since the 1960 to improve the prospects of the disadvantaged "have failed" and "excluded is unfortunately all too accurate a description for many young people who fail at school." He raised the prospect of taking schools out of local authority control by stating that they could be "managed in some other way" if local government was reformed. Unveiling the book, Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Tory leader, said: "While Scottish administrations since devolution have held the power to chart a bold new course for our nation's schools, they have ducked this challenge. "In place of long overdue reform, they have too often retreated into a "Scottish exceptionalism" which closes its eyes to the transformational change that has swept through the delivery of education across much of the world." But Mr Russell said: "I am very pleased to see our ongoing commitment to open up further and higher education is making a difference." A Scottish Government spokesman added: "We welcome any debate over how to further improve education, but the reality is that Scottish schools have undergone a radical transformation in recent years with the introduction of Curriculum for Excellence. It is delivering real change where it counts - in the classroom. Meanwhile, papers presented to Holyrood's education committee warned council spending on education this year is on course to be five per cent lower in real terms than in 2011/12. Teaching unions warned MSPs this would result in fewer staff, less training and classroom time and more pupil overcrowding. Iain Ellis, chair of the National Parent Forum of Scotland, told them "serious cuts may be required" and raised the prospect of taking schools out of council control. He was echoed by Eileen Prior, of the Scottish Parent Teacher Council, who said that Scotland having 32 local authorities meant there was "an incredible amount of duplication."