An extra �20.6 million is being ploughed into schools in London’s deprived East End to help children in poverty get a better start in adult life.

The cash is part of the government’s �1.6 billion Pupil Premium funding which is being extended in the New Year to another half-million children in Britain.

Schools that have been registered for free meals in the past six years get �900 for each pupil from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Tower Hamlets councillor Stephanie Eaton said: “We need to make sure children aren’t held back by poverty and disadvantage—social background has been a deciding factor for too long in a child’s chances for the future.”

Nearly 23,000 pupils in Tower Hamlets primary and secondary schools are eligible this year for their schools to receive the cash to help prevent them falling behind in lessons, resulting in less class disruption.