Results show that we are held back by inequality in the North East

Across the UK, the proportion of students achieving top grades – A or A* – reached 28.3%, the highest since 2002 outside the pandemic years. But in the North East, the picture was far less encouraging. Our region not only ranked last, but saw the proportion of students hitting top grades fall by a full percentage point.

The gap between the North East and the highest-performing regions is not a reflection of the talent or dedication of our young people, nor the commitment of their teachers. It is a consequence of structural inequalities that have deepened over the 14 years of Tory rule. Austerity-era cuts hollowed out public services, reduced family incomes, and stripped away community support networks that help children thrive. In that time, education budgets were squeezed, youth services disappeared, and councils were forced to do more with far less.

These results are not an isolated problem. They reflect the broader economic challenges facing our region – challenges that hold back opportunity from the classroom to the workplace. Latest GDP figures show the UK economy grew by 0.3% in the three months to June. That is welcome, and the government’s increased investment in public services and infrastructure is beginning to make a difference. But the scars of over a decade of underinvestment will take far longer to heal here than in London or the South East.

The North East has endured some of the highest rates of unemployment and the slowest wage growth in the country since the financial crisis. The latest figures show that 28.2% of young people in the North East are economically inactive – the highest proportion in the country. These are not the foundations of a fair or resilient economy. When so many households are living week to week, the benefits of growth are slow to reach the high streets of Sunderland, Gateshead, or Hartlepool.

If we are serious about turning this around, the recovery must be more than a headline growth figure. We need sustained, targeted investment in regions like ours – in skills, apprenticeships, transport links, and the industries of the future. That includes making sure our young people have access to the same opportunities as their peers elsewhere, whether that’s high-quality teaching, extra-curricular activities, or the ability to afford to study without taking on crushing debt.

This a massive waste of the talent in our region. A kid who may create the next breakthrough in AI, or be the greatest musician of their generation, may miss their opportunity because of the chronic underfunding and mismanagement of our education system, left behind by the last government. The government’s promised white paper on educational inequality is a chance to break the cycle, but it will only succeed if it tackles the root causes – poverty, insecure work, and underfunded public services – not just the symptoms.

First published in the Journal (Newcastle-upon-Tyne), 18 August 2025