Schools are in urgent need of a recovery plan after the attainment gap in top GCSE grades between the north and south of England widened, an educational charity has said.Every region saw a fall in the proportion of pupils getting a 7/A or above, but the divide between the highest and lowest-achieving areas since before the pandemic grew.As expected, with the return to formal exams for the first time in three years, top grades fell from 2021 levels but remained higher than in 2019.Figures publish

Schools are in urgent need of a recovery plan after the attainment gap in top GCSE grades between the north and south of England widened, an educational charity has said.Every region saw a fall in the proportion of pupils getting a 7/A or above, but the divide between the highest and lowest-achieving areas since before the pandemic grew.As expected, with the return to formal exams for the first time in three years, top grades fell from 2021 levels but remained higher than in 2019.Figures published by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) - covering GCSE entries from students predominantly in England, Wales and Northern Ireland - showed top grades of 7/A have fallen from 28.9% in 2021 to 26.3% this year, a drop of 2.6 percentage points.