Yorkshire falls further behind London as A Level attainment gap grows

The A Level attainment gap between Yorkshire and London has continued to grow, with the capital pulling even further ahead of the rest of the country when it comes to the top grades.

Overall, the number of pupils receiving top results in Yorkshire improved, as it did across the country, but nowhere did it grow as quickly as London.

The disparity is now so high that every single region of England, other than London and the South East now has results below the national average, while the gap between London and the three northern regions all grew.

Tackling regional inequalities has been a key theme of the new Government, and while yesterday’s results will serve as a stark reminder of the task ahead, next week’s GCSE’s results are likely to show the disparities even more clearly, with children from the most disadvantaged backgrounds less likely to proceed to A Levels.

Some 32.7 per cent of entries in the capital were awarded A or A* this year, up from 32.1 per cent in 2025 and the highest for any region in England, the exam results show.

In Yorkshire and the Humber, the figure was 25.7 per cent, up from 25.3 per cent last year, while nationally, the figure was 28.5 per cent, up slightly from 28.3 per cent last year.

Elsewhere across the country, the North East and the East Midlands had the lowest rates, at 23.1 per cent, while Yorkshire placed sixth out of nine regions.

There are also significant differences in results within the county, with more affluent areas far outperforming those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

But within the overall results are countless success stories. Bradford and Doncaster, both of which previously received targeted funding to improve outcomes, saw marked improvement.

Both saw a 2.6 per increase in top grades from last year, making them the joint 12th fastest-rising districts in England.

Chief Executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership Henri Murrison said this showed a rebalancing is possible.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Post, he said: “Many council areas in the North of England have historically had fewer young people gaining A and A* grades than other parts of the country.

“Bradford and Doncaster previously benefited from Opportunity Area funding before it was cut by the last Conservative government and they are amongst those local authorities which have significantly improved their performance over the last year well above the wider improvement across their regions.

“The improvements put in place as part of their Opportunity Area status have continued to pay dividends but should still have had ongoing government support.”

“Despite the fact that some areas may have significant barriers facing young people we should recognise that with focused intervention improvement is possible.

“The inequalities in results between different areas are not a reflection simply of the social and economic challenges, but the willingness of government to consistently seek to address them.”

Lee Elliot Major, social mobility professor at Exeter University said: “England is no longer defined by a simple north–south divide.

“It is increasingly a story of London pulling away from much of the country.

“Today’s results show a record gap in top A-level grades between London and the lowest-performing regions.

“Our capital has become an educational outlier, while too many young people in the North East, East Midlands and other parts of the country are growing up in very different worlds of opportunity.

“Talent is spread evenly across the country; opportunity is not.

“These record regional divides are another warning that our education system is not working for a significant number of young people.

“The warning lights are flashing: persistent attainment gaps by background and place, historically high levels of school absence, and growing divides outside the school gates.

“Too many rural, coastal and post-industrial communities have been left with fewer educational and economic opportunities.”