A lot has been written in the search for a credible explanation for the improvement in attainment in London’s schools since the turn of the century. It now seems that London’s schools have disproportionately benefited from improvements to the education system as a whole, with similar pupils and schools elsewhere in England improving by roughly [...]
In this project with Peter Urwin and Augusto Cerqua we analyse the returns to FE learning using matched ILR-WPLS administrative data. This programme of investigation identifies good labour market returns to FE learning, and compelling evidence that previous less favourable findings [for instance relating to Level 2 vocational learning] were a result of data limitations, rather than [...]
In this blog, we examine the variation between areas in rates of first degree achievement and further education participation at age 19 or above. Young people who were living in London at age 15, particularly those who were eligible for free school meals, were more likely to go on to achieve a degree than those [...]
Reformed GCSEs in English and mathematics will be introduced in 2017. Noticeboards in staff rooms across the country are adorned in postcards from Ofqual summarising the changes. But although the grading structure will change, we are led to believe that broadly similar proportions of pupils will achieve grade 4 and above as currently achieve grade [...]
Ofsted today published its state of the nation annual report. Geographic inequalities in attainment featured prominently: “There are 16 local authority areas in England where less than 60% of the children attend good or outstanding secondary schools, have lower than national GCSE attainment and make less than national levels of expected progress. All but three [...]
