Life chances of city kids are worst in the country

THE poorest young people growing up in a Newcastle constituency have the worst life chances of anywhere in England, according to new research.

- DANIEL HOLLAND Local Democracy Reporter [e-mail]

Newcastle Central and West ranks bottom of a new Opportunity Index published by the Sutton Trust.

The charity has ranked areas according to their social mobility - based on how secondary school children who are eligible for free school meals progress in terms of their exam results, access to higher education, employment status, and earnings.

Its analysis, based on data about more than 10 million young people across two decades, reveals “stark” differences in the life prospects of children growing up in Newcastle compared to the top-rated constituency of East Ham in London.

While both areas have similar levels of free school meal (FSM) eligibility, only 15% of those children in Newcastle Central and West pass their GCSEs in English and maths - compared to 44.6% in East Ham.

FSM pupils from East Ham are also over three times more likely to have a degree by age 22, at 35%, compared to those in Newcastle Central and West, at 10%.