London students soared ahead of the rest of the country in their A-level results because the city is a magnet for talented people who value education, experts said on Friday.
Students in the capital scored more A*s than any other region and stretched their lead over the rest of the country, exam results published yesterday revealed.
Analysis by Labour found students in London and the South East were almost 40 per cent more likely to get an A or A* grade than those in the North East.
Shadow schools minister Stephen Morgan accused the Government of “overseeing the managed decline of education across the North of England and Midlands”.
But Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham, said: “London and the South East are magnets for talented people from all over the UK and indeed the world. They tend to be people who put a high priority on education.
“East London, where I was born, now has some of the most successful schools in the country because the populace recognises that education is the door to opportunity.”
He admitted that the migration to the capital could be a drain on other parts of the UK, but London was always “pushing for progress” whereas other regions “can become complacent and content with the way things are”.
Nationally, top exam results dropped by a quarter as exam boards attempted to reverse pandemic grade inflation.
But in London 10.5 per cent of exams were graded A*, which is the highest of any region. In the North East, the lowest performing region, just 6.4 per cent of grades were awarded an A*.
In total, 30 per cent of exams taken in London were graded A* or A — which is just behind the South East at 30.3 per cent. It means the gap between London and the South East and the lowest performing regions has increased from 5.9 percentage points in 2019 to 8 percentage points this year.
London was also the most improved region this year, with an 11.5 per cent increase in top grades since 2019 — the last year exams were taken and marked normally.
Some experts said the gap in regional results could be due to disparities in wealth, with the wealthier areas of the south doing better than areas in the north.
But Sarah Atkinson, CEO of Social Mobility Foundation, said within London there were poorer children who were still missing out on opportunities. Research by the foundation found that just over one-third of low-income London students had access to catch-up tutors, whereas in the North East just over half of low-income students got this support.
She said: “Although London students might be doing well in terms of top A-level grades, we have to ask ourselves whether students in London, and across the regions of England, are equally able to reach their potential?”
She described this as the “untold story” within London.
