England’s teenagers are in limbo. They have sat their gcse exams, which most take at 16, and will receive the results on August 21st. If they are nervous, they should be. Good gcse grades open doors to colleges and universities, whereas bad grades shut them. But teenagers in big cities should worry less. They are likely to do better than their peers elsewhere, and better than their predecessors.
“We were known for having pretty terrible schools,” says Bev Craig, the leader of Manchester City Council. In 2005 just 27% of gcse takers in the city’s state schools got five grades C or above in English, maths and three other subjects. In England as a whole, 43% did. Pupils who were entitled to free meals because of their parents’ poverty fared worse. Only 15% of Mancunians from that deprived group cleared the bar, compared with 18% across England.