Latest news with #northeastEngland
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The Independent
5 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Boys outperform girls in top A-level grades for first time in years
A-level top grades (A or A*) have reached a record high outside of the Covid-19 pandemic years, with 28.3 per cent of UK entries achieving these results. A record 255,130 18-year-olds in the UK have been accepted onto university or college courses, marking a 4.7 per cent increase compared to last year. Boys outperformed girls in securing top A-level grades for the first time in seven years, while the overall pass rate also saw an increase. Education leaders have highlighted a widening regional divide in results, with the gap between London and north-east England reaching its largest since 2010. Officials confirmed that the standard of A-level grades has remained consistent since 2023, with this cohort achieving results that reflect a stable standard of achievement despite pandemic disruption.
The Independent
5 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Record gap in A-level top grades between London and north-east England
The gap between the proportion of A-level entries in London awarded the highest grades and those in north-east England is at its widest since the current system of grading was introduced, the 2025 exam figures show. 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. By contrast, north-east England had the lowest regional percentage this year at 22.9%, down from 23.9% in 2024. 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 being West Midlands (down from 24.8% to 24.2%). It is also the only region where the proportion of entries awarded A or A* this year, 22.9%, is lower than the equivalent figure in the pre-pandemic year of 2019 (23.0%). For entries receiving the top grade of A*, London again had the highest proportion (11.6%, up from 11.3%) and north-east England the lowest (6.8%, down from 7.8%). The gap here of 4.8 percentage points is wider than in 2024 (3.5 points) but not as large as during the pandemic, when it reached 6.8 points in 2021. North-east England and the West Midlands are the only regions to see a year-on-year fall in entries receiving A*. By contrast, all regions reported a year-on-year increase in the proportion of entries awarded a grade C or higher, with London and south-east England almost tied on the highest percentage (79.54% and 79.45% respectively) and the East Midlands having the lowest (73.6%). At a national level, 30.4% of entries in Northern Ireland received A or A*, higher than the equivalent figure for Wales (29.5%) and England (28.2%). For entries awarded C or above, Northern Ireland was ahead at 85.8%, above England (77.7%) and Wales (77.2%). Here are the percentages of A-level entries awarded the top grade of A* by nation and region in 2025, with the equivalent figures for both 2024 and the pre-pandemic year of 2019: – North-east England 6.8% (2024: 7.8%; 2019: 6.7%)– North-west England 8.3% (2024: 8.0%; 2019: 6.9%)– Yorkshire & the Humber 7.7% (2024: 7.4%; 2019: 6.5%)– West Midlands 7.4% (2024: 7.9%; 2019: 6.3%)– East Midlands 7.4% (2024: 6.8%; 2019: 5.8%)– Eastern England 9.3% (2024: 9.1%; 2019: 7.9%)– South-west England 8.9% (2024: 8.8; 2019: 8.0%)– South-east England 11.0% (2024: 10.9%; 2019: 9.0%)– London 11.6% (2024: 11.3%; 2019: 8.7%)– England 9.4% (2024: 9.3%; 2019: 7.7%)– Wales 10.5% (2024: 10.1%; 2019: 8.9%)– Northern Ireland 8.7% (2024: 8.2%; 2019: 8.0%)– All 9.4% (2024: 9.3%; 2019: 7.7%) Here are the percentages of A-level entries awarded A or A*, by nation and region: – North-east England 22.9% (2024: 23.9%; 2019: 23.0%)– North-west England 26.6% (2024: 25.5%; 2019: 23.5%)– Yorkshire & the Humber 25.3% (2024: 24.6%; 2019: 23.2%)– West Midlands 24.2% (2024: 24.8%; 2019: 22.0%)– East Midlands 23.8% (2024: 22.5%; 2019: 21.0%)– Eastern England 28.0% (2024: 27.5%; 2019: 25.6%)– South-west England 27.0% (2024: 26.9%; 2019: 25.8%)– South-east England 31.2% (2024: 30.8%; 2019: 28.3%)– London 32.1% (2024: 31.3%; 2019: 26.9%)– England 28.2% (2024: 27.6%; 2019: 25.2%)– Wales 29.5% (2024: 29.9%; 2019: 26.5%)– Northern Ireland 30.4% (2024: 30.3%; 2019: 29.4%)– All 28.3% (2024: 27.8%; 2019: 25.4%) Here are the percentages of A-level entries awarded C or above, by nation and region: – North-east England 74.9% (2024: 74.4%; 2019: 76.3%)– North-west England 78.2% (2024: 75.9%; 2019: 75.6%)– Yorkshire & the Humber 76.8% (2024: 74.4%; 2019: 74.7%)– West Midlands 74.2% (2024: 73.4%; 2019: 72.8%)– East Midlands 73.6% (2024: 71.8%; 2019: 73.0%)– Eastern England 77.8% (2024: 76.1%; 2019: 75.7%)– South-west England 77.3% (2024: 76.3%; 2019: 76.0%)– South-east England 79.45% (2024: 78.1%; 2019: 78.0%)– London 79.54% (2024: 77.5%; 2019: 74.8%)– England 77.7% (2024: 76.0%; 2019: 75.5%)– Wales 77.2% (2024: 76.5%; 2019: 76.3%)– Northern Ireland 85.8% (2024: 85.1%; 2019: 85.0%)– All 77.9% (2024: 76.4%; 2019: 75.9%)
Bloomberg
17-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
UK Hydrogen Firm Warns of Spillover From Ethanol Plant Closures
Nascent green energy companies that are needed to decarbonize the UK warned they would be hurt by the closure of the country's ethanol industry. British ethanol makers are facing imminent shutdown due to competition from a wave of cheap product unleashed by a deal with the US that lifted tariffs. It's 'critical' that the Vivergo Fuels plant remains open to support the wider development of sustainable fuels in northeast England, said Richard Clark, development director at Meld Energy.
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Fishing stories sought for dance performance
A dance company is seeking people's stories for a performance to celebrate a region's fishing villages. Meta4 Dance is calling for people from the north-east of England to share their memories and anecdotes from villages along the coast, and will also hold in-person consultations in Northumberland at the end of the month. Co-director and founder Lily Horgan, from the area, said living in rural areas meant people have had to travel long distances to get to theatres, so they were bringing the Fisherfolk project to the communities. She said: "To be able to bring these memories back to people, and for them to see us create something from what they give us, I think it could be really quite emotional." The project is in its early stages of development and aims to tell the story of heritage of fishing villages and celebrate the present day. Co-director and founder Charlie Dunne said: "At this stage, we're looking to consult with the community that have family connections, who have personal connections, stories, tales, funny anecdotes of maybe things that happened 40 years ago. "Maybe things that happened yesterday. It doesn't matter." He said there was no requirement for people to have dance experience. "They can just come and sit down and say, 'Oh, my auntie used to help bring the fish in or whatever it might be," Mr Dunne said. Fisherfolk has received funding from the Northumberland Dance Development fund, and was commissioned by Moving Art Management. Meta4 Dance said consultations would be held on 27 and 28 July, but invited people to get in touch via email or social media in the meantime. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Photographer shoots a decade of town's fishing Meta4 Dance
BBC News
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
North East fishing stories sought for dance performance
A dance company is seeking people's stories for a performance to celebrate a region's fishing Dance is calling for people from the north-east of England to share their memories and anecdotes from villages along the coast, and will also hold in-person consultations in Northumberland at the end of the and founder Lily Horgan, from the area, said living in rural areas meant people have had to travel long distances to get to theatres, so they were bringing the Fisherfolk project to the said: "To be able to bring these memories back to people, and for them to see us create something from what they give us, I think it could be really quite emotional." The project is in its early stages of development and aims to tell the story of heritage of fishing villages and celebrate the present and founder Charlie Dunne said: "At this stage, we're looking to consult with the community that have family connections, who have personal connections, stories, tales, funny anecdotes of maybe things that happened 40 years ago."Maybe things that happened yesterday. It doesn't matter."He said there was no requirement for people to have dance experience."They can just come and sit down and say, 'Oh, my auntie used to help bring the fish in or whatever it might be," Mr Dunne said. Fisherfolk has received funding from the Northumberland Dance Development fund, and was commissioned by Moving Art Dance said consultations would be held on 27 and 28 July, but invited people to get in touch via email or social media in the meantime. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
