Levelling Up in education “dead and buried”, says Labour after regional GCSE attainment gaps grow

Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary Bridget declared the Conservatives’ pledge to “level up” education “dead and buried” after the Schools Minister admitted that rising regional GCSE attainment gaps confirmed that the Conservatives’ agenda had “absolutely” failed.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb made the comments on BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme about the growing “disadvantage gap”. Analysis by Labour has uncovered the extent of growing regional divides in education attainment, finding that:

• Students in London were over 50% more likely to achieve a 7 (A grade) or higher in their GCSEs than students across the North and Midlands
• Merseyside saw fewest 16 year olds passing their maths GCSE with just 65% achieving a grade 4 compared to over 80% in Surrey or Hertfordshire
• Merseyside and the Isle of Wight saw lowest proportion of students achieving a pass in English, with fewer than two thirds of students achieving this standard compared to again 80+ % in Hertfordshire and Surrey
• For 2020/21 (last year for which data is available) a fifth of young people in the North East do not move into sustained education, employment or training after completing their studies, 40% higher than in outer London. The number not moving into a sustained destination has increased since 2017/18.

The gaps further entrench a gulf in attainment that evidence shows was growing before the pandemic. Research from EPI found that the disadvantage gap had stopped closing before the pandemic started, dealing a blow to the government’s pledge to “level up” education.

Labour has said that the failure of the Conservatives’ National Tutoring Programme, panned by its own recovery Tsar, as well as the Conservatives’ failure to deliver covid recovery schemes, lay behind the growing attainment gap.

Labour has pledged to drive high and rising standards in state schools as part of its mission to break down barriers to opportunity through recruitment of thousands more expert teachers, a revised curriculum with greater access to creative subjects and two weeks’ worth of work experience and expert careers advice to get young people ready for work and life.

Bridget Phillipson MP, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, said:

“The Schools Minister has confirmed that Conservative promises to level up education are dead and buried.

“Young people who have worked so hard are being let down by a government that has no interest in shrinking attainment gaps or raising education standards and a Prime Minister who seems to have more interest in supporting American private colleges than schools in this country.

“Labour is the party of high and rising standards in education. We will smash the class ceiling by improving young people’s school outcomes, building life skills and ensuring a broad and enriching education for every child.”

---

• Transcript of Nick Gibb comments on BBC Radio 4’sToday programme.

Mishal Hussain: Why has the disadvantage gaps as it’s called, the attainment gap. Why has it been widening? Isn’t that a failure of your levelling up agenda?

Nick Gibb: Absolutely. During the, no, during the COVID pandemic, we did see that, I mean undoubtedly disadvantaged children suffered disproportionately during that COVID pandemic, compared to their more advantaged peers.

Source: Today – 24/08/2023 – BBC Sounds; 2:28:55

·Students in London were over 50% more likely to achieve a 7 (A grade) or higher in their GCSEs than students across the North and Midlands

	% at 7+
Region	2019	2023	Change	% change	Pupils in London more likely to get top grades
North East	16.4	17.6	1.2	7%	1.61
North West	18.6	18.6	0	0%	1.53
Yorks and Humber	17.8	18.2	0.4	2%	1.56
West Mids	18.1	18.4	0.3	2%	1.54
East Mids	18.3	18.5	0.2	1%	1.54
East	20.5	21.9	1.4	7%	1.30
South West	20.4	20.8	0.4	2%	1.37
South East	23.5	24.4	0.9	4%	1.16
London	25.7	28.4	2.7	11%	1.00
Difference between top/bottom region	9.3	10.8	1.5	16%

Merseyside saw fewest 16 year olds passing their maths GCSE with just 65% achieving a grade 4 compared to over 80% in Surrey or Hertfordshire

County	Subject	AgeGroup	Grade	CountyPercent	NationalPercent
Merseyside	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	65.1	72.3
Isle of Wight	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	66.7	72.3
Shropshire	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	67	72.3
West Midlands	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	67.2	72.3
Staffordshire	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	67.6	72.3
East Riding of Yorkshire	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	67.7	72.3
South Yorkshire	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	68.2	72.3
Cornwall	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	68.8	72.3
Tyne and Wear	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	68.8	72.3
Durham	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	69.4	72.3
Greater Manchester	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	69.5	72.3
Lancashire	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	69.6	72.3
West Yorkshire	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	69.6	72.3
Derbyshire	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	70.2	72.3
Lincolnshire	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	70.2	72.3
Bedfordshire	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	70.3	72.3
Cumbria	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	70.3	72.3
County of Bristol	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	70.4	72.3
Nottinghamshire	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	70.5	72.3
Northumberland	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	70.7	72.3
Norfolk	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	71.3	72.3
Northamptonshire	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	71.4	72.3
Suffolk	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	71.5	72.3
Leicestershire	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	71.8	72.3
Herefordshire	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	72.1	72.3
Somerset	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	72.2	72.3
Worcestershire	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	72.2	72.3
Essex	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	72.3	72.3
Hampshire	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	72.5	72.3
Kent	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	72.8	72.3
Wiltshire	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	72.8	72.3
Cheshire	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	72.9	72.3
Devon	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	73.1	72.3
North Yorkshire	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	73.3	72.3
West Sussex	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	73.9	72.3
East Sussex	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	74	72.3
Cambridgeshire	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	74.5	72.3
Oxfordshire	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	74.8	72.3
Dorset	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	75.2	72.3
Gloucestershire	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	75.4	72.3
Warwickshire	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	75.5	72.3
Berkshire	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	76.5	72.3
Greater London	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	76.7	72.3
Buckinghamshire	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	78	72.3
Rutland	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	79.7	72.3
Surrey	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	80.1	72.3
Hertfordshire	Mathematics	Aged 16	4 and above	80.2	72.3

Merseyside and the Isle of Wight saw lowest proportion of students achieving a pass in English, with fewer than two thirds of students achieving this standard compared to again 80+ % in Hertfordshire and Surrey

County	Subject	AgeGroup	Grade	CountyPercent	NationalPercent
Isle of Wight	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	64.3	71.6
Merseyside	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	65.8	71.6
Cornwall	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	66.5	71.6
Staffordshire	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	66.8	71.6
Herefordshire	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	67	71.6
Cumbria	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	67.5	71.6
South Yorkshire	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	67.5	71.6
East Riding of Yorkshire	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	67.6	71.6
Lancashire	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	67.6	71.6
Tyne and Wear	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	67.6	71.6
West Midlands	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	67.6	71.6
Norfolk	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	67.7	71.6
Northamptonshire	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	68.1	71.6
Nottinghamshire	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	68.1	71.6
Durham	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	68.3	71.6
Bedfordshire	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	68.7	71.6
Greater Manchester	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	68.7	71.6
Northumberland	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	68.7	71.6
Derbyshire	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	68.9	71.6
Lincolnshire	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	69	71.6
West Yorkshire	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	69	71.6
Hampshire	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	69.5	71.6
Shropshire	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	69.8	71.6
Suffolk	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	70	71.6
Devon	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	70.2	71.6
Leicestershire	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	70.5	71.6
County of Bristol	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	70.8	71.6
Kent	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	70.8	71.6
Somerset	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	70.9	71.6
Essex	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	71.2	71.6
Wiltshire	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	71.3	71.6
Worcestershire	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	71.3	71.6
West Sussex	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	72.2	71.6
Cheshire	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	72.4	71.6
Dorset	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	73.1	71.6
East Sussex	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	73.1	71.6
North Yorkshire	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	73.1	71.6
Cambridgeshire	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	73.7	71.6
Warwickshire	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	74.6	71.6
Gloucestershire	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	74.9	71.6
Oxfordshire	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	75.4	71.6
Berkshire	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	76.7	71.6
Rutland	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	76.7	71.6
Greater London	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	77.5	71.6
Buckinghamshire	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	77.9	71.6
Surrey	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	80.3	71.6
Hertfordshire	English language	Aged 16	4 and above	80.7	71.6

		2021/22
England	Level 2	81.69
	Level 3	60.68
North East	Level 2	78.44
	Level 3	53.9
North West	Level 2	80.28
	Level 3	58.06
Yorkshire and The Humber	Level 2	78.23
	Level 3	55.62
East Midlands	Level 2	79.93
	Level 3	57.01
West Midlands	Level 2	80.42
	Level 3	58.27
East of England	Level 2	82.82
	Level 3	62.11
London	Level 2	86.32
	Level 3	70.87
South East	Level 2	82.55
	Level 3	61.76
South West	Level 2	82.12
	Level 3	59.9

Source: Guide to GCSE results for England, summer 2023 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)