We will be keeping our eyes peeled for the gender gap in GCSE results next week: reports do suggest that we could see a relative fall in girls’ attainment.
Regional gaps in grading have been around for a long time, and they’re not going anywhere this year.
The chart below shows the proportion of students belarus rcs data achieving a grade A or above this year, in 2019, the last year before the pandemic, and in 2021, when grading was at its highest.
The proportion is consistently highest in London and the South East. In both areas, close to a third of entries received top grades, compared to 22.5% in the East Midlands.
And in both these regions, particularly London, grades are currently higher than pre-pandemic, while in most of the country they have returned to 2019 levels.
But, while these differences should not be ignored, we would sound a note of caution. Differences between regions can mask even more significant differences within regions. Too much focus on region may be a distraction from where the real focus should be: on supporting low attaining students, wherever they are.
Students in independent schools are still more likely to achieve top grades
Ofqual publishes data on attainment by centre type at a national level.
Across all subjects and all centre types, the proportion of A-levels awarded grades A*-A in 2024 was largely the same as in 2019. Results were slightly lower among students at FE colleges and slightly higher among those in independent schools.