TALENTED youngsters continue to be let down by the country’s “two-tier” education system, experts warned after today’s A-level results revealed widening regional divides.
Every region in England saw an increase in the top (A/A*) grades this summer as well as a higher proportion of them compared with the pre-pandemic year of 2019.
London and south-east England however were the only areas to see rates of A/A* grades above 30 per cent.
The capital saw the highest proportion of entries awarded the top grades, at 31.3 per cent, up 1.3 percentage points from 2023.
The East Midlands had the lowest, at 22.5 per cent, up 0.2 points from last year.
Lee Elliot Major, professor of social mobility at Exeter University, said: “These results highlight the stark regional divides that characterise our education system.
“Of course these patterns reflect the differing levels of child poverty across the country, but we need to do more to understand the specific obstacles to education in different parts of the country.”
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union the NAHT, added: “School leaders have seen both the pernicious impact of the pandemic and poverty on children’s learning, mental and physical health, and well-being.”
The proportion of entries awarded A and above in Wales and Northern Ireland fell sharply this year — the first since these nations completed their return to pre-pandemic levels of grading.
The overall pass rate — the proportion of entries graded A* to E — fell by 0.1 percentage points to 97.2 per cent this year, the figures from the Joint Council for Qualifications showed.
Commenting on A-level, Applied General, T-level and other VTQ results, National Education Union deputy general secretary Niamh Sweeney said: “Applied General Qualifications (AGQs) like BTECs and Cambridge Technicals are important qualifications which help students progress to employment and further study.
“We recommend that [Education Secretary] Bridget Phillipson provides clarity on her statement about AGQs and pauses the defunding for a further two years, to review the qualifications.
“Schools and colleges otherwise face uncertainty about the courses they can offer.
“Many thousands of young people — and disproportionately from low-income families — risk being prevented from accessing education.”
Ms Phillipson this week pledged to turn around “baked-in” educational inequalities to ensure young people from all backgrounds have a chance to “get on in life” after leaving school.
