Manchester area ranks number one as the most improved in UK for GCSEs
New research has revealed England's areas that have seen the biggest drop in GCSE results since lockdown, with Salford coming out on top.
The study by Teachers To Your Home, which provides qualified teachers for tuition, analysed Department for Education data from 2018/19 to 2023/24 to find the areas that have seen the biggest drop in Attainment 8 average scores since before lockdown. Attainment 8 is a measure of a pupil's average achievement across their best eight GCSE-level qualifications, with a maximum score of 90.
The Cheshire area of Halton saw an extensive 12.1% drop in Attainment 8 scores. In the 2018/19 school year, the average sat at 45.4, dropping to 39.9 in 2023/24.
However, Salford topped the list of most improved areas with a 5.9% increase in scores from 2018/19 to 2023/24, followed by Plymouth with 5.7% and Wandsworth with 5.5%.
95 local authorities saw a drop in GCSE scores from 2018/19 to 2023/24, with just 55 either staying the same or seeing an improvement.
The study found that the national average Attainment 8 score in 2023/24 was 46.2, down slightly from 46.7 in 2018/19.
It also found that 17 out of the 20 local authorities that saw the biggest increases in GCSE scores were in London.
According to research from the Department for Education, 2022/23 saw the first signs of a return to pre-pandemic scoring levels, with adjustments being made to take into account any disruption students have faced.
Gillian Dixon, CEO of Teachers To Your Home, said: "With many northern areas featuring in the list of the biggest GCSE score drops, it could be suggested that there is a divide between how the pandemic has affected educational outcomes between the north and the south of the country.”
Adding: “A significant drop in Attainment 8 averages, as seen in some of the areas on this list, could mean more pupils see a long-term impact, with knock-on effects for access to higher education and employment prospects. In London, where a lot of areas have seen improvements, work has been done post-pandemic to focus on any loss of education. Initiatives like Reconnect London, for example, took on the job of educational recovery by providing tutoring and mentoring to London pupils.”