POOR children in London have outperformed their wealthier peers across the country, with the number of GCSE passes more than doubling in a decade, reports Joana Ramiro.

Experts from the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion and the Institute for Fiscal Studies revealed the figures yesterday and argued that the improvement in performance of disadvantaged children came from investments made in the capital’s schools and because of London’s cultural diversity — kids from ethnic minorities tended to get better results than their white counterparts.

National Union of Teachers deputy general secretary Kevin Courtney said that much was owed to the London Challenge programme spearheaded by the union since 2003.

“The London Challenge took a holistic approach to improving the capital’s schools, including through measures to recruit and retain teachers such as London weighting and key-worker housing schemes.

“Crucially, it recognised that success cannot be realised by ‘naming and shaming’ schools or by a ‘one-size fits all’ approach such as the government is dogmatically pursuing through its academy programme.”