Children’s commissioner launches new project to tackle north-south educational gap

Children’s commissioner Anne Longfield is launching a major new project aimed at tackling the educational gap between the north and south of England.

From the start of school, children in the north tend to be slightly behind their contemporaries in the south. While some northern areas do very well by the time pupils reach 11 years-old, the gap starts to increase at aged 16, as northern areas have failed to keep track with the big improvement in London schools.

In 2015, a pupil from a disadvantaged background was 41 per cent more likely to get five A*- Cs in London than in the north of England. Children in London and the south east are also 57 per cent more likely to go to a top university.

The ‘Growing Up North’ project seeks to understand why some children in the north fall behind their counterparts in the south and what can be done to improve choices and outcomes for all children in the region.

Commenting at the launch of Growing Up North, Longfield said: “The economic disadvantage of the north is well established but as a place for children to grow up the reality is far more complex. Whilst there are parts of the North where children fall behind there are places where they excel.

“The regeneration underway provides a unique opportunity to reshape prospects for children in the north. I want every child, wherever they are born, to get the same opportunities and support to prosper. To do this, we need to understand why children do better in some parts of the country than others and what it is about the place they grow up in that supports them to succeed. Growing up North will put children at the heart of discussions about Northern regeneration. It’s time to leave the north-south divide behind.”