EXTRA costs for some courses, educational trips and school equipment mean some pupils miss opportunities, according to a report.
The work, commissioned by Save the Children and Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People Tam Baillie is believed to be the first to seek the opinions of young people themselves about the impact of poverty on education.
For the Learning Lessons report, a group of teenagers working with researchers, solicited the views of almost 1,000 secondary pupils in relatively deprived areas across Scotland.
They found that poverty puts up barriers to learning which they say undermines the concept of universal free state education.
The increasing cost of school trips, charity events, and charges for missing books or equipment are among the developments which young people report have a much bigger impact on poorer families.
These can quickly become a financial burden for families on a low income and, in some cases, limit children's ability to fully take part in school life, the report says. It will be launched today at an event in Edinburgh attended by Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, Mike Russell MSP.
Nearly two thirds (63%) of young people said growing up in a family that doesn't have a lot of money should not necessarily make a difference to how a young person does at school.
The report says 71% thought growing up a family facing financial hardship made a difference to how many school trips they could go on and more than a quarter (27%) thought it made a difference to whether they could take part in after-school activities such as sports and clubs.
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