Standing view · skills · South Tyneside
mixed, held with tentative confidence, formed on 5 October 2026 from movements in 2024/2025.
Skills and attainment in South Tyneside have been mixed. GCSE grade 4+ in English and maths was 58.3 in 2023/2024 and GCSE grade 5+ in English and maths 35.5 in the same year, both recorded as unfavourable against the usual pattern for their year, while pupils entering English and maths GCSEs was 95.9 and favourable. The following year reversed: GCSE grade 4+ in English and maths was 60.8 and GCSE grade 5+ 38.5 in 2024/2025, both favourable. A clear turn in the latest year after an unfavourable one before it.
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.
| Measure | Period | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| GCSE grade 4+ in English and maths | 2023/2024 | deteriorating |
| GCSE grade 5+ in English and maths | 2023/2024 | deteriorating |
| Pupils entering English and maths GCSEs | 2023/2024 | improving |
| GCSE grade 4+ in English and maths | 2024/2025 | improving |
| GCSE grade 5+ in English and maths | 2024/2025 | improving |