The latest government figures, published mid October, show that children in the north perform worse in their GCSE’s than those in the South. Data from this year’s courses showed that 66.5% of pupils in the outer London catchment area scored A*-C in English and Maths. 65.5 of South East children scored the same, and 64.7% of inner London children.
Up north however, it’s a different story. Only 59.9% of kids in the West Midlands achieved A*-C at GCSE. These are the worst scores in the England.
Angela Rayner, Labour’s shadow secretary, said this was ‘deeply disturbing’ and said:
“Many children are performing well and we should celebrate the teachers and schools working tirelessly to help children get good grades.
“However it is deeply concerning that children in the North and the Midlands still appear to be lagging behind their southern peers.
“The difference in geography should not mean a difference in attainment – Government plans for more grammar schools will do absolutely nothing to address this.
“We need to be supporting excellent teaching and leadership in all our schools right across the country to drive up standards, and concentrating on making sure all children are given the opportunity to fulfil their potential, not just a lucky few.”
Nick Gibb, School Standards Minister, said the data will “help parents identify how well the schools in their local area are performing – ensuring they have the best information available to make that important decision on the right secondary school for their child.”
