Attainment gap has worsened in Yorkshire according to new report

The attainment gap has widened in the past few years in Yorkshire and the Humber - according to new findings from an education charity.

The report also claimed that almost 'no progress' has been made to close the attainment gap between England's poorest pupils and their richer peers in the past three years.

The charity Teach First said 44.9% of disadvantaged students received passes at levels four to nine in their GCSE English and maths exams last year, compared with 72% of pupils from richer backgrounds.

GCSEs are now graded from one to nine, with four being the equivalent of a C under the old system, and nine being an A*.

The charity's analysis found the figure had only marginally improved overall for poorer pupils in England since 2017, when it stood at 44.5%, while in some parts of the country the attainment gap had increased.

Teach First's chief executive, said the recent turmoil around exam results 'threw a sharp light' on the 'inequality' of the education system.

He added:

The charity said that while 59% of disadvantaged pupils in Inner London achieved a pass grade in English and maths last year, the figure dropped to less than half in eight out of 10 other regions.

It said there was evidence that the attainment gap had widened in the past few years in Yorkshire and the Humber, the North West, Outer London, the South East and the South West.

A Department for Education spokesman said: