Key facts
- England's A-level results show a record gap in top grades between London and other regions.
- Nearly a third of A-level candidates in London (32.7%) gained A*s and As, up 6 percentage points from last year.
- In the East Midlands, less than a quarter (23.1%) secured top grades, down from 2025.
- The gap in A and A* grades between London and the north-east is 9.6 percentage points.
- Experts attribute London's success to factors like higher pay for teachers and ambitious migrant families.
- Calls for increased funding and a long-term, system-wide approach to address educational disparities have been made.
England's A-level results, published on Thursday, reveal a stark and widening gap in top grades between London and other regions, with the disparity reaching record levels. While students across the country celebrated achieving a high volume of As and A*s, detailed analysis shows that nearly a third of candidates in the capital (32.7%) secured these top grades, a significant increase from the previous year. In contrast, regions like the East Midlands and the north-east saw lower percentages of top grades, with the East Midlands even experiencing a slight decrease.
The gap in top grades between London and the north-east has grown to an alarming 9.6 percentage points, the largest since the pandemic and substantially higher than the pre-pandemic disparity of 3.9 points in 2019. Experts, including Professor Lee Elliot Major of Exeter University, describe London as an "educational outlier" and highlight that while talent is evenly distributed, opportunity is not. This widening divide is increasingly characterized as London pulling away from the rest of the country, rather than a simple north-south divide.
Factors contributing to London's success are attributed to initiatives like Tony Blair's "London Challenge" starting in 2003, higher teacher pay, cultural attractiveness, and the influence of ambitious migrant families. The Department for Education is attempting to address these disparities through its "Rise" teams, focusing on underperforming areas and schools. A proposal in the schools white paper to vary funding rates based on household income to support disadvantaged children has also been welcomed.
However, the persistent nature of these disparities necessitates significant intervention. Chris Zarraga, director of Schools North East, stated that schools in different parts of England are not operating on a level playing field, facing entrenched disadvantage and pressure on public services. He emphasized that closing these divides requires a systemic challenge, encompassing education, early years, health, transport, skills, and economic development, alongside high-quality academic and vocational pathways. Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the National Education Union, called for increased funding to address the strains on schools in disadvantaged areas. Zarraga concluded that results should reflect potential, not the structural advantages or disadvantages of a student's upbringing.