The Mayor of London has today published his first Annual London Education Report. The report, produced by the Education Policy Institute, explores all aspects of educating young people in the capital; from childcare and the early years, through to apprenticeships and entry into the labour market.

The report highlights, once again, that pupils in the capital are among the highest performing in the country. Indeed, in 2016, London was the top performing region at both primary and secondary level and by the end of secondary school. This means that pupils in London achieved a sixth of a grade higher in each GCSE subject than pupils with similar prior attainment nationally. To put that into context, pupils in the next highest performing region, the East of England, achieved around one thirtieth of a grade higher than pupils with similar prior attainment nationally.  

The so called “London Effect” continues to be a subject of debate among researchers and policy makers. It was initially thought that it was driven by interventions like the London Challenge or the early stages of the Academies Programme. Later studies suggest that while these may have played a part, the impact of other changes to school accountability and leadership, for example, shouldn’t be underestimated. Neither should the potential impact of London’s ethnic composition.

Whatever the explanation, the continued success of London’s schools means that the city has much to be proud of. But alongside that, the report highlights significant challenges over the coming years if London’s schools, and the pupils they teach, are to compete in the global economy.

‘Stubborn’ attainment gap

The capital fares less well, however, internationally where it is well behind the leading cities and countries, and, while narrower than elsewhere, the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers stubbornly remains. In fact, the most persistently disadvantaged children in London are a whole year behind their more affluent peers by the end of secondary school. This has barely changed in recent years, despite general improvement.

If education in London and the rest of the country is to be truly world-class, there needs to be a push to raise the attainment of all pupils from all backgrounds. We know that a significant disadvantage gap is evident before school, meaning efforts need to start in the early years. This includes ensuring all children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, have access to high quality and affordable childcare. As it stands, children in London from disadvantaged backgrounds are currently more likely to miss out on such provision than others, often having no provision at all.

This push also means continuing to raise standards in primary schools. London remains the leading region at key stage 2, but that still means that just over 40 per cent of the capital’s children - well over 30,000 each year - are still leaving primary school not “secondary ready”, having not achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics.

Recruitment struggles

While seemingly obvious, it also means having excellent teaching and leadership. London’s vibrant labour market and higher living costs, however, are contributing to schools struggling to recruit teachers at all levels. Nearly a third of secondary schools in the city have teacher vacancies and the proportion of primary teachers leaving the state-sector altogether is higher in London than in any other region.

There are also pressures from an increasing pupil population. Infant class sizes are, on average, higher in London than in any other region and a significant proportion of schools are already at or over capacity. The Greater London Authority estimates that by 2020 an additional 60,000 primary and 105,000 secondary places will be required in the capital.

This comes at a time when, according to the Department for Education’s own analysis, schools across the country are set to face real terms funding pressures of over 8 per cent. In addition, assuming the Government’s proposed National Funding Formula is implemented, over two-thirds of schools in London are set to have their funding reduced. Indeed, our own analysis shows that high performing primary schools in the capital will be particularly badly hit and the problem will be most acute in those schools that also have high levels of disadvantage.

So while we continue to look to understand what it is that has driven the high performance of London schools, we must not underestimate the challenges that it now faces in maintaining that performance, nor that it still needs to go much further if it is to be considered truly world class.

Jon Andrews is director of education data and statistics at the Education Policy Institute. He tweets as @mrjpandrews

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