The Datum Report

Standing view · skills · South Tyneside

Skills and attainment in South Tyneside have been mixed.

mixed, held with tentative confidence, formed on 31 August 2026 from movements in 2024/2025.

The share of South Tyneside pupils reaching grade 4 or above in GCSE English and maths fell to 58.3% in 2023/24, then rose to 60.8% in 2024/25. Attainment at grade 5 or above followed the same path, falling to 35.5% and recovering to 38.5%. Entry to both subjects rose to 95.9% of the cohort in 2023/24. Both attainment measures ended higher than they began, with the improvement in the most recent year.

How this was decided

A view is formed only where the evidence names a figure you can check. Each movement listed as a reason had to be large enough to matter and distinctive in at least one way — unusual against this area's own history, unusual against comparable areas, or sustained over several periods. A movement shared with peers counts for less, because it says something about the country rather than about South Tyneside. Where no figure supports a direction we hold no view rather than a hedged one.

The 5 measures that formed this view

MeasurePeriodDirection
GCSE grade 4+ in English and maths2023/2024deteriorating
GCSE grade 5+ in English and maths2023/2024deteriorating
Pupils entering English and maths GCSEs2023/2024improving
GCSE grade 4+ in English and maths2024/2025improving
GCSE grade 5+ in English and maths2024/2025improving