London's disadvantaged pupils outperform those elsewhere in England

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/jun/23/london-disadvantages-school-pupils-best-uk-ifs

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Schoolchildren from disadvantaged backgrounds in London are getting better academic results than pupils in the rest of England, according to a new study published on Monday.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) research – in the report Lessons from London Schools for Attainment Gaps and Social Mobility – attributes this to the differences in the mix of pupils attending London's schools compared with other areas of the country and the improved results the children received when they were in primary school.

The study was ordered by the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission, with support from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) through the Centre for the Microeconomic Analysis of Public Policy at IFS.

The research found that, on the back of rapid improvements in pupil performance in London's primary schools in the late 1990s and early 2000s, disadvantaged pupils had made great progress, especially youngsters from inner London.

Disadvantaged pupils in London achieved substantially better exam results than those elsewhere in England in 2012. 54% of inner London pupils eligible for free school meals achieved five or more GCSEs at A*-C including English and maths, compared with 47% in outer London, 40% in the West Midlands and 30-35% in other regions outside of London who gained similar results.

Disadvantaged pupils in inner London were also more likely to achieve high results, with 13% getting eight or more A*-Bs, including English and maths, compared with 3-6% outside London. The study found that this could be linked to higher levels of participation in post-compulsory education.

It was also noted that the multicultural mix of pupils in inner London and other large cities, compared with the rest of England, may have had some effect on the better and improving results.

By the time schoolchildren, particularly those in inner London, were 11, they performed significantly better at key stage two in both English and maths than in other areas of England.

The study also found there was a big improvement in key stage 2 English scores for disadvantaged pupils in London between 1999 and 2003. It was suggested that this is a key reason why key stage four results in London later improved between 2004 and 2008. Key stage two maths results were consistently higher for London compared with the rest of the country.

Disadvantaged pupils in Manchester and Birmingham also got better results in secondary school and substantial improvements were noticed over time relative to the rest of England, thanks to the effect of being bolstered by good results while they were at primary schools, the research noted.

Report author and IFS programme director Luke Sibieta believes specific policies focused on London secondary schools may not be the main reason for this improvement.

He described the higher level and improved performance of disadvantaged pupils in secondary schools in London over the past decade as" a remarkable success story" adding that "success at primary schools is clearly crucial".