School leaders in the North have criticised Prime Minister Theresa May’s record on social mobility as new figures show a widening regional divide in university admissions.
The percentage of 18-year-olds who have been accepted onto university courses has declined in each of three regions in the North of England but increased in five of the six others in the Midlands and South.
Just over a third of 18-year-olds living in London have secured a university place compared with less a quarter (23.7 per cent) in the North East.
Now Schools NorthEast is urging the Government to take action.
Its director Mike Parker said: “Theresa May stood on the steps of Downing Street in July 2016 and spoke of the burning injustices of social immobility. Two years on and we are in a worse situation here in the North East.
“The Department for Education has buried its head in the sand over this issue, passing over the North East for its flagship Opportunity Areas initiative, funnelling funding for school improvement to other areas and denying that funding is an issue while highly successful London schools receive significantly more resources than schools in the North.
“A fresh approach is urgently needed to reverse this picture. The Government needs to address the issues that stifle outcomes in the North - supporting communities out of poverty, raising adult literacy and numeracy levels, a far stronger focus on early years education, addressing aspiration and substantially improving resourcing, staffing and support for schools to improve educational outcomes.”
Clearing figures from Ucas also show The North East, North West and Yorkshire and the Humber have seen the numbers of 18-year-olds accepted into university drop compared with this time last year.
In North East the figure is down by seven per cent, in Yorkshire and Humber it is down four per cent and in the North West it is down three per cent.
In contrast there has been a four per cent increase in London and a two per cent increase in the South East in the number of 18-year-olds accepted on university courses today compared with in 2017.
Schools NorthEast is England’s only schools-led regional network.
The organisation represents over 1,300 schools in the region and is governed by a board of 28 head teachers.
