England’s GCSE results show ingrained social and regional inequality post-Covid

Pupils at Ark Pioneer academy in Barnet, north London, receive their GCSE results. Photograph: Jordan Pettitt/PA

As the tide of exam results affected by Covid recedes, it reveals stark social and regional inequalities in GCSE performances across England that are barely changed or worse than before the pandemic struck.

Those receiving their GCSE results this week were in their first year of secondary school when the pandemic began in early 2020, with that year and the next hugely disrupted as a result.