Graeme Whitfield

AS THIS paper's former education correspondent, I know that Thursdays in mid to late August are times when our photographers will go out and file dozens of pictures of teenagers hugging, holding up signs with big capital As on them and jumping in the air.

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Exams season is upon us, and this week brought us great stories of young people from around the region who have achieved great things. Nothing should detract from their achievements or that of their teachers.

But at the same time, we can’t avoid the unwelcome headline that accompanied those results, which saw the gap in top A-level grades between the North East and the country’s best performing area, London, grow to its largest ever level. Almost a third (32.1%) of ‘A-levels in London got A or A* grades this year in London compared to 22.9% in the North East. We were one of just two regions to see a year-on-year drop in entries receiving top grades.