Why are London Schools so Good?

Or, rather, why do children from poorer backgrounds do so much better in London than they do in other parts of England? That’s a question Chris Cook asks, almost as an afterthought, at the conclusion of a post that, to my untrained eye, makes a good case for ignoring much of the attractive* nostalgia for grammar schools. That is, grammar schools are grand for some of those who get in but, looking at a wider picture, they do much less (these days anyway) to promote social mobility than their advocates claim they do. Or, simply, poorer pupils do worse in Kent (a representative grammar school county) than they do in London (which does not have grammar schools).

Be that as it may – and I dare say someone can come up with an argument explaining why Kent is a poor example for Cook to have picked – it’s much more interesting to ask why poor kids in London do so much better than poor kids elsewhere.