George Osborne is urging ministers to set the target of having the same number of children attending “good” and “outstanding” schools in the North of England as there are in London by 2022.

The former chancellor will tell the Commons Education Select Committee today that bridging this gap would mean an extra 430,000 children in the North would be able to attend a “good” school.

This call has been backed by children’s commissioner Anne Longfield, who said children in the North needed the same ambition now as shown by the London Challenge, which is credited with helping to transform standards in the capital.

Mr Osborne will appear alongside Lord Jim O’Neill, as chairman and vice-chairman respectively of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, to address why attainment in the North lags behind the rest of the country.

The partnership was set up in 2016 to represent civic leaders and businesses in the North.

Mr Osborne said: “Education is key to the future of the Northern Powerhouse. At the moment, school performance in the North is not as strong as it is in other parts of the country. It doesn’t have to be that way. 

“I’m calling on the government to commit to this bold objective: let’s make sure as many kids in the North attend ‘good’ and ‘outstanding’ schools as they do now in London.

“Working with teachers, businesses and government at every level, we can do it. Our Northern Powerhouse Partnership has set out the plan to achieve it. Let’s get on with it.” 

‘A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’

Ms Longfield produced a report in March highlighting the fact that London children who are eligible for free school meals are twice as likely to go to university as those in the North, and 40 per cent more likely to achieve good maths and English GCSE grades.

She said: “The Northern Powerhouse is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make sure every child growing up in the North has the best chances to live healthy, happy and prosperous lives. It must not be wasted.

“The London Challenge was the right focus for that place, at that time. We need to see the same ambition for the poorest parts of the North. Closing the education gap by 2022 is a commitment the government should make now.”

Mr Osborne and Lord O’Neill are to set out five ways in which they believe standards in northern schools can be improved, when they appear before MPs today.

They want more businesses in the North “sponsoring academies, addressing poor leadership and management in schools and directly mentoring young people” to make them aware of the range of jobs available to them.

Ministers will also be urged to create more “opportunity areas”, which aim to boost social mobility through education, in the North - and particularly the North East, which currently does not have any.

And they will suggest rolling out a plan to make every child school-ready, which is currently being led in Manchester.

They also want a Northern Board to be created to oversee large multi-academy trusts and they will ask the government to commit to reforms that support schools teaching children from disadvantaged homes.  

Earlier this year the Northern Powerhouse Partnership produced a report that warned of a significant North-South divide in education, with too many northern young people, especially those from disadvantaged homes, falling behind those in other parts of the UK.

It called for firms to pledge to offer youngsters meaningful careers advice and guidance, including work placements, to help boost skills and provide opportunities to youngsters in the North of England.

Another recommendation was providing extra money for early years services - and for disadvantaged pupils.

Lord O’Neill said: “Turning around northern schools is a major challenge. But it was done in London, which had the worst schools in the country, and can be done in the Northern Powerhouse.

“I have been encouraged by the initial response to our Educating the North report, as work has already started to get underway in the first few months of this year. But much more can and must be done - by government, by northern businesses and by local authority leaders across the North, as well as our metro mayors.”