On average, pupils in small towns had better educational attainment than in larger towns and cities. This is based on analysis of the educational attainment of state school students who sat their GCSEs in the 2012 to 2013 school year. We have focused on this cohort, as they are the most recent pupils for whom data exists on their progress after school, up to age 22 years.
The level of income deprivation and the education of the previous generation in a town also related to how well students in our cohort did in school. This was reflected in their choices after age 16 years.
In this article, we compare the educational attainment in towns using data from our cohort, such as their:
- attainment at primary school level (Key Stage 2) in school year 2007 to 2008
- attainment at GSCE level in school year 2012 to 2013
- qualifications attained by age 18 years (school year 2014 to 2015)
- qualifications attained by age 22 years (school year 2018 to 2019)
