It’s the time of year when teenagers across the region are preparing to take their GCSEs and pondering what comes next in their education.
But ChronicleLive can today reveal the “shocking” North-South divide in A-Level availability.
Our analysis of government data shows there are only eight Parliamentary constituencies in England where there are no schools or sixth form colleges - either independent or state-run - offering A-Levels.
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Of these eight areas - Barnsley East, Blackpool South, Bolsover, Bolton West, Bury South, Dudley South, Houghton and Sunderland South and Stalybridge and Hyde - all but two are in the North of England.
An MP in one of the affected areas said it was “unacceptable” to not have a sixth form in her constituency and that it was vital for young people to have “proper opportunities” locally.
Anne Longfield, the former Children’s Commissioner and now chair of the Commission on Young Lives said: "It is shocking that some children are growing up in areas of the country where there is no provision for them to study A levels and doubly shocking that so many are in the North.
“Yet again, it is evident that whilst talent is everywhere, opportunity is not. Disadvantaged children growing up in the North are less likely to get good A level grades and less likely to go to university than their disadvantaged peers in the South East.
“Government must put education front and centre of its plans to level up. Children need to be able to rely on an education system that is ambitious for their futures, with the opportunities and support to succeed wherever they live."
Education select committee chairman Robert Halfon said the divide showed how "education must be the cornerstone" of the levelling up agenda.
He said: "Every child deserves an equal start in life, and it is worrying that this is not seen to be the case when it comes to post-16 routes such as A-Levels."
Sunderland MP and shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson added: "Education is about opportunity.
"Yet after 12 years of Conservative government these shocking figures show how many children are still denied the chances they need by virtue of where they come from.
"It couldn’t be clearer that they are failing our children.
"Labour is on your side, we’re determined no young person should have to leave their community to get on in life.”
Meanwhile, analysis of government data by the Northern Agenda into the local authority areas with the fewest 16-year-olds going to School 6th Form or Sixth Form College shows that eight of the ‘top ten’ are in the North.
Only 10.7% of Barnsley 16-year-olds go to a school sixth Form or sixth form college, compared with the national average of 49.2%. And in Hartlepool, Knowsley, Salford, Halton, South Tyneside and Sunderland the figure is also lower than one in four.
The 20 local authority areas where the highest proportion of children go on to sixth form - more than two-thirds in every case - are all in London.
The findings echo previous analysis by the Northern Powerhouse Partnership (NPP) lobbying group about sixth form and further education provision in the North.
As part of the Government’s recent Levelling Up White Paper to tackle regional inequalities 55 so-called ‘education cold spots’ - many of which are in the North - will get extra investment.
Struggling schools would be offered more support and new selective sixth-form colleges created. The idea of specialist elite sixth forms builds on examples in London such as Brampton Manor Academy, which was praised by Boris Johnson at last year’s Tory conference.
But NPP director Henri Murison said they “aren’t the answer to problems such as poor progress among long-term disadvantaged pupils at secondary school, which is the most significant challenge in education for the North.”
He added: “There are some areas of low progress at secondary level, such as Redcar, which have no school sixth form or specific academic post-16 provision for A-Levels, and so the nearest Further Education college is the only option for many local young people.
“However, Redcar has higher-performing primary schools so it doesn’t qualify for the DfE’s new selective sixth form programme - just one example of how a national approach fails to appreciate specific local circumstances, as this policy could have really helped.
“More funding and more local control is the best way to ensure the government’s new education investment areas succeed in helping more young people access education and skills opportunities. Selective sixth forms should only be for places that would benefit - not imposed where they aren’t needed.”
We approached the Department for Education for comment. A spokesman did not issue a comment but referred us to a press release from last month about the recent Schools White Paper which does not mention A-Levels.
