The top 20 constituencies for social mobility in England are all located in London, with East Ham ranking first for offering the best opportunities to disadvantaged young people.
Educational charity The Sutton Trust has put together an ‘opportunity index’, which analyses six measures of mobility, including school attainment; the share of children on free school meals who achieve passes in GCSE maths and English; those who complete a degree by aged 22 and average earnings by aged 28.
The Trust has found that all 20 of its top-scoring constituencies — and 42 of the top 50 — are in London.
East Ham has been ranked as the top constituency for opportunity, followed by Stratford and Bow, Brent West, Bethnal Green and Stepney and Bermondsey and Old Southwark.
Children receiving free school meals in East Ham are a startling 30 percentage points more likely to achieve a Grade 5 in English and maths than pupils in the lowest-ranking constituency of Newcastle Upon Tyne Central and West.
They are also three times more likely to complete a degree and reach the top fifth of earners, despite the two constituencies having similar levels of pupils eligible for free school meals.
Average earnings at aged 28 are almost £7,000 lower for free school meal pupils from Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West compared to East Ham.
All except three of the top 20 constituencies with the highest progress eight averages — a common measure of academic progress for students — are London constituencies.
Nick Harrison, CEO of the Sutton Trust, said: “This research paints a startling picture of inequality of opportunity across England. The life chances of disadvantaged young people remain strongly tied to where they grow up.
“If the Government genuinely wants to break down barriers to opportunity, we need serious investment in education and economic opportunities in the ‘left behind’ parts of the UK. Failing to act is damaging the life changes of too many of the next generation.”
The report, which uses data on over 10 million young people across two decades, also how reveals migration from is linked to higher earnings on average.
While a traditional view of migration involves young people moving to London, the capital has actually seen the joint highest level of young people moving out to another region by aged 28.
