Data Stories
UK Data
Insight into the UK's education system through data
- Consistent with 2017 and 2018 findings, 1 in 2 disadvantaged pupils and around 4 in 5 (78%) of pupils from affluent backgrounds reach the English and Maths benchmark by age 19.
- Therefore, across the year years, advantaged students are 55% more likely to attain a 4/C in their GCSE Maths and English.
- In several LEAs, advantaged pupils were twice as likely to achieve the two qualifications than their less affluent peers: Blaby; Bromsgrove; Copeland; Mole Valley; North Warwickshire and South Bucks.
Proportion of students with a Level 2 qualification in English and Maths by age 19 across Local Education Authority (LEA) in England.
- The proportion of students who reached the age of 19 with a level 2 (e.g., GCSE or Functional Skills qualification) in Maths and English, as of 2017.
- On average, around 4 in 5 (78%) of advantaged pupils passed (i.e., attained a C/4 or higher) the two subjects by the time they exited compulsory education.
- By contrast, 1 in 2 disadvantaged students met this benchmark. This is consistent with recorded outcomes in 2017.
- As was the case the previous year, the Isles of Scilly was the only LEA where disadvantaged pupils were more likely to pass their Level 2 Maths and English than their more affluent peers.
Proportion of students with a Level 2 qualification in English and Maths by age 19 across Local Education Authority (LEA) in England.
- The proportion of students who reached the age of 19 with a level 2 (e.g., GCSE or Functional Skills qualification) in Maths and English in 2017.
- On average, 4 in 5 (78%) of advantaged pupils passed (i.e., attained a C/4 or higher) the two subjects by the time they exited compulsory education.
- By contrast, typically 1 in 2 disadvantaged students met this benchmark.
- The Isles of Scilly was the only local authority where disadvantaged students were more likely to attain a C/4 or higher in both subjects at Level 2 than their more affluent peers.
Proportion of students with a Level 2 qualification in English and Maths by age 19 across Local Education Authority (LEA) in England.
- The number of individuals recorded as being in education, employment or training by local authority over the time period 2014 to 2018.
- There is significant variation in five-year changes to the % of FE leavers identified as in Sustained Positive Destinations across local authorities, ranging between -71% (East Herefordshire) and 107% (Sedgemoor)
- Sustained positive destinations refer to those FE leavers recorded as being in education, employment or both.
*2016 entries excluded due to data gaps.
Variation in the proportion of Further Education (FE) leavers recorded as being in education, employment or training after course completion by local authority.
- On average, slightly below 3 in 4 (72.48%) of A Levels across the listed regions were accredited an A*-C in 2018/19.
- The percentage of top awards regionally varied between 60% in Sandwell to 87% observed in York (rounded to the nearest whole number).
- A*-B regional performance is a statistically significant predictor for the regional variation of A-Levels accredited an A*-C (p<0.001).
- Schools in London, the South East and West Midlands typically outperform those in the East of England and South West. However, higher performance is only statistically significant in Yorkshire and the Humber and the North East (p<0.05).
*Data not available for Knowsley.
A Level Entries graded A*-C by region
- On average, slightly under 1 in 2 (46.15%) of A Levels across the listed regions were accredited an A*, A or B in 2018/19.
- The percentage of awards graded higher than a C regionally varied between 30% in Sandwell to 67% observed in Trafford (rounded to the nearest whole number).
- The percentage of qualifications awarded an A* or A is a statistically significant predictor of A*-B attainment (p<0.001). Therefore, those areas that had a higher percentage of A*-As typically observed a comparatively higher percentage of A*B awards.
- The North West and South West typically outperformed other regions in the percentage of A-Level qualifications awarded as A*, A or B. However, this is not statistically significant (p>0.05).
*Data not available for Knowsley.
A Level Entries graded A*-B by region
- On average, 1 in 5 (20.33%) of A Levels across the listed regions were accredited an A or A* in the 2018/19 during the 2018/2019 examination series.
- The percentage of top awards regionally varied between 10% in Sandwell to 43% observed in Reading (rounded to the nearest whole number).
*Data unavailable for Knowsley.
A Level Entries graded A*-A by region
- A-Level Subjects include: Maths; Further Maths; Biology; Chemistry; Physics and Computing.
- Nationally, there were more were more provisional female than male entrants into STEM subjects across the 2020/2021 year group (56.45% versus 43.55%).
- Follows 2019 trends, when female students first overtook male students in STEM A-Level subjects.
- Female entries into Computing and Further Maths are notably low compared to other STEM subjects. Over 19 times more female students take Biology than Computing, on average.
- Students from the North West, South East, West Midlands and London are statistically more likely to take STEM subjects at A Level compared to pupils studying at schools in the North East, South West and East Midlands (p<0.001).
Percentage of female entries for STEM A-Level subjects based on Provisional Entries Data
- On average 49.9% students achieve a grade 5+ in both English and Maths
- Results vary significantly by constituency
- Over 70% students achieve these grades in 5 constituencies – Altrincham and Sale West, Wycombe, Hitchin and Harpenden, Southend West and Chipping Barnet
- In 4 constituencies, 27% or below achieve these grades – Great Grimsby, Knowsley, Nottingham North and Bootle
Proportion of GCSE students achieving 5+ in both English and Maths in 2020 by Constituency
- On average, 49.9% of pupils in England achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and Maths.
- Performance by Local Education Authority varies significantly.
- In Trafford LEA, 68% of students reached this level; in Knowsley, 30 miles away, the figure was 27%.
Proportion of GCSE students achieving grade 5+ in both English and Maths in 2020 by LEA
Assessing oracy: Is Comparative Judgement the answer?
Oracy skills are vital to success in school and life. And yet, for many children, opportunities to develop them are missed. Educationalists are engaging in a growing debate about where oracy fits into the school system. Labour has put it at the heart of its plans to improve social mobility and an independent commission is looking at how it is taught in the classroom. This renewed focus on oracy means it is more important than ever that teachers have a way to reliably assess and understand their students’ attainment and progression. Amanda Moorghen of oracy education charity Voice 21 explains how Comparative Judgement can help with that and why it may be a game changer.
TV subtitles as an aid to literacy: What does the research say?
Jack Black is probably best known in educational circles for playing a renegade substitute teacher in School of Rock. But the Hollywood star has made a more conventional foray into education by backing the use of TV subtitles to improve child literacy. Stephen Fry and the World Literacy Foundation also want parents to use their TV remotes to get children reading. So, could this simple click of a button be a solution to boost pupils’ reading skills? AQA’s resident expert on language teaching, Dr Katy Finch, casts her eye over the research to see whether it stacks up.
What is left behind now education’s Data Wave has receded?
Is data the solution to all education’s issues? About a decade ago the prevailing wisdom said it was. Advocates of this Data Wave argued that harvesting internal statistics would help schools solve issues such as teacher accountability and attainment gaps. As with all waves, after crashing onto the beach they recede, leaving space for another to roll in. In this blog, teacher, author and data analyst Richard Selfridge looks at the legacy of the Data Wave to see what schools can take from it.
Finland & PISA – A fall from grace but still a high performer?
Finland was once recognised as one of the most successful educational systems in the world. At the turn of the millennium, it topped the PISA rankings in reading, maths and science. But by 2012, decline set in. The last set of results showed performances in maths, reading and science were at an all-time low. In this blog Dr Jonathan Doherty of Leeds Trinity University outlines some reasons that may account for the slide.
PISA, TIMSS and PIRLS: What actually are they and what do they tell us?
According to the latest PISA results, England’s science scores are still on a downward trajectory that started a decade ago. Yet TIMSS, another respected study, has science performances rising. Which of them is right? Is one more valid than the other? In this blog AQi examines three International Large-Scale Assessments and finds that, although they may look the same from a distance, get up close and you’ll find they are very different beasts.
Adaptive Assessment: A missing ingredient in the resit recipe?
The number of students resitting their maths GCSE is growing, but the proportion getting a grade 4 or higher is falling. This situation is not only dispiriting for the young people striving to get the qualifications they need, but also for the teachers working hard to help them. How can outcomes for this cohort be improved? Bart Crisp, associate director at the Centre for the Use of Research and Evidence in Education, thinks adaptive assessment may be part of the solution.
Student success: Every milestone matters
Baroness Morgan is calling for students to be given ‘self-belief’ lessons as a way of developing their characters and preparing them for the future. She is not the first to notice that a student’s sense of their own ability and their level of success are part of a virtuous circle. But how can teachers get the snowball rolling for students with SEND or in alternative provision? In this blog, former headteacher, John Tomsett, pulls out a swimming certificate he earned more than half a century ago to use as an inspiration for others.
Progress 8 – How much can it flex?
Progress 8 has come in for criticism in recent months for the way it combines with the Ebacc to skew schools’ focus towards academic subjects at the expense of creative and technical options. Both Labour and a Lords committee have called for reform to boost uptake of declining subjects such as D&T, dance and drama. In the second of two blogs looking at Progress 8, AQi examines whether the accountability measure could be realigned to address these concerns and if so, how could that be done?
Progress 8 – Schools’ flexible friend?
Eight years after Progress 8 came into existence it is facing calls to be updated. Some say reforming the schools accountability measure can halt the decline in take up of the arts, while others want it to boost numbers taking vocational and technical subjects. Are its shoulders broad enough to take on such a load? In the first of two blogs on Progress 8, AQi looks at how it came into being, what problems it was designed to solve and whether it is flexible enough to be reformed.
2023: A year in review
As we wrap up a year full of exciting developments in education, it is the perfect time to take stock of what has gone on. In this blog, editor of AQi, Anil Dawar, reflects on some of his highlights for 2023.