Understanding the improved performance of disadvantaged pupils in London

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Disadvantaged pupils in London perform almost 20% better in their GCSEs than those from outside of the capital. This so-called ‘London Effect’, the researchers suggest, is the result of 20 years of improvement in London’s primary and second schools rather than any particular policies, such as Challenge London or Teach First. Crucially, if the trend continues and disadvantaged pupils carry on getting higher GCSE grades, it means more will have the opportunity to carry on into higher education, which may help improve social mobility in the capital.  

Using data from the National Pupil Database, the Youth Cohort Study and the Millennium Cohort Study, the research tracked the performance of disadvantaged pupils in London compared to the rest of the country, and tried to explain why the London pupils performed better, particularly between the ages of 5 and 11. The fact that these improvements stretch back to the mid-90s shows that they’re not simply the result of initiatives such as Challenge London or Teach First, which all started after 2000. The improvements also seem to come when the pupils are still in primary school, which also rules out the introduction of academies.

Ethnicity was found to be less of a factor than some might expect: while the diversity of London’s pupils did have some impact, the socio-economic challenges faced by disadvantaged pupils in and outside of London were found to be largely similar. Where there was a key difference was in the Maths and English ability of children entering secondary school, which was higher in the London pupils, again suggesting that a good primary school education put the pupils in good stead later on in their learning. 

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The research may be particularly interesting for primary school teachers as it sets of a very strong case for the lasting impact a good 5 to 11 education can have on a child’s life chances. It will also be of interest to teachers in other ethnically diverse parts of the country – and probably to those from less diverse areas too – as it suggests that the idea that London pupils have some sort of advantage in coming from more diverse backgrounds may not be true, and that pupils perform well in spite of family background, not because of it.