Record A-level results but concerns raised about ‘entrenched' regional divides

Yahoo

19 hours ago

A-level grades have exposed stark divides in results between regions, prompting fears about 'entrenched' inequalities across England.
While the overall proportion of entries awarded top grades rose again this year – remaining above pre-pandemic highs – a breakdown shows attainment gaps are widening across some areas of the country.
North-east England saw just 22.9% of entries awarded an A or A* grade this year, a record 9.2 percentage points behind London (32.1%), and the only region to see a lower figure than in the pre-pandemic year of 2019.
The Education Secretary called the 'entrenched divide' in outcomes and the lack of progress for white working-class children 'concerning'.
Education experts suggested that differences in A-level results, which are having an impact on university access, are a symptom of poverty and problems outside the school gates, which mean children's life chances are being determined 'more by their postcode than their potential'.
Overall, 28.3% of UK entries were awarded an A or A* grade, up by 0.5 percentage points on last year, when 27.8% achieved the top grades.
This was higher than in 2019, the last year that summer exams were taken before the pandemic, when 25.4% of entries were awarded A or A* grades.
It is the highest proportion of entries scoring top grades outside the pandemic-affected years of 2020-22, according to the figures from the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Boys outperformed girls in terms of top A-level grades for the first time in seven years.
As results were published, separate Ucas figures showed the number of applicants accepted on to UK degree courses has risen to a record high.
The higher education admissions service said 82% of UK 18-year-old applicants awaiting a decision on results day secured their first choice.
But Ucas data showed regional disparities remain in university access, with the gap between north-east England and London at the highest on record.
Overall, 24.9% of 18-year-olds from north-east England secured a university place on results day, compared with 43.4% of 18-year-olds from London.
The gap is now 18.5 percentage points, up from 17.3 percentage points last year and 11.9 percentage points in 2019.
At A-level, the A*-A gap between the highest performing region, London, and the lowest, north-east England, is now at its widest since the current system of grading was introduced, according to figures from England's exams regulator Ofqual.
Some 32.1% of entries in the capital were awarded A or A* this year, the highest for any region in England and up from 31.3% in 2024.
North-east England had the lowest regional percentage this year at 22.9%, down from 23.9% in 2024.
It means the gap between these two regions now stands at 9.2 percentage points, up from 7.4 points last year and the largest since the present system of grading began in 2010, according to analysis by the PA news agency.
North-east England is one of just two regions to see a year-on-year drop in entries receiving top grades, the other is West Midlands (down from 24.8% to 24.2%).
Bridget Phillipson said: 'Every single young person collecting their results today should have the opportunity to pursue their dreams, whether that starts with further study, university, an apprenticeship or the world of work, but too often, opportunities depend on background rather than talent.
'The entrenched divide in outcomes seen over the last few years and the lack of progress for children from white working-class backgrounds is particularly concerning.'
On A-level results day, Ms Phillipson said Government education reforms will ensure that all young people are 'truly ready for life and work'.
Lee Elliot Major, professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter, said: 'In too many parts of the country, children are arriving at school hungry, anxious and facing the grinding effects of poverty outside the school gates— poor housing, insecure work, a lack of local services.
'Inside the school gates, overstretched schools struggle to meet rising needs.
'Until we tackle these inequities both inside and outside the classroom, we will continue to see children's life chances determined more by their postcode than their potential.'
He added: 'These results expose an education system of entrenched regional divides.
'It is a stark reminder that where you grow up still shapes your life chances.'
Mr Elliot Major called for a 'region-first approach' to tackling divides that invests in schools and colleges outside London, addresses poverty in places where it 'hits most', and attracts and retains teachers in 'struggling areas'.
Chris Zarraga, director of Schools North East, said: 'North East students have done brilliantly again this year, but the structural gap between our region and London has grown yet again. This is not about school quality.
'Every August, our students prove their talent and determination. But we cannot keep pretending the North East–London gap is about standards. It is about deep-rooted structural inequalities that no government has seriously addressed.
'Without urgent, sustained action to tackle them, the gap will keep widening and it will not be because our students or teachers are any less capable.'
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders' union NAHT, said the widening gap needs closer investigation.
He said: 'This regional disparity has grown over the past decade, and the reasons need to be properly understood if they are to be tackled.
'This could range from differences in the impact of Covid and the cost-of-living crisis, to specific areas of poverty and varying investment into education, health, social care and other support services and infrastructure in the London and the South compared to the North.'
Mr Whiteman added that similar data needed to be collected for vocational technical qualifications (VTQs) 'to build a complete picture of the situation'.
JCQ's figures for England, Wales and Northern Ireland show overall pass rate – the proportion of entries graded A* to E – has also risen to 97.5% this year, which is up on last year (97.2%) and the pre-pandemic year of 2019 (97.6%).
Sir Ian Bauckham, chief regulator of Ofqual, told the PA news agency that the standard of work required to achieve grades has 'held constant' since 2023.
He said any changes were because a 'smaller, smarter cohort' of students had sat their A-level exams this year compared to previous years.
The Covid-19 pandemic led to an increase in top grades in 2020 and 2021, with results based on teacher assessments instead of exams.
This cohort of school and college leavers received their GCSE results in 2023, the first year that grading was returned to pre-pandemic levels in England.
In Wales and Northern Ireland, exam regulators returned to pre-pandemic grading in 2024, a year later than in England.
More than 250,000 Level 3 VTQ results have also been awarded to UK students by the JCQ this year.
In England, 11,909 students received their T-level results in the fourth year that the qualification has been awarded, and 91.4% achieved at least a pass.
Scotland has a different qualification system and students received their results on Tuesday last week.