Level 3 attainment gap between Free School Meals and non-Free School Meals students at 19 years-of-age (2007/08-2024/25)
Last updated: July 2026
Next estimated update: June 2027
What does this indicator show?
This indicator shows the attainment gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvanataged students in Inner and Outer London, as well as the rest of England.
A student is classed as disadvantaged if they were eligible for Free School Meals at the end of Key Stage 4.
The attainment gap shows how many more students who weren’t disadvantaged gained Level 3 qualifications (equivalent to A Levels) than those who were disadvantaged.
At the bottom of the page we can see how the attainment gap differs across London boroughs.
What does it tell us?
The attainment gap is lower in London than in the rest of England. It is higher in Outer London than Inner London. This has been the case for the entire period shown here - since 2007/08.
In Inner London, the attainment gap is 15.5 percentage points. In Outer London the gap was wider at 21.7 percentage points and in the rest of England it was wider still at 28.4 percentage points.
Overall, the attainment gap has stayed fairly consistent in England. In both Inner and Outer London, though, it has widened slightly over the last five years. So while Inner London's gap remains lower than Outer London's and England's, it is now wider than at any point since 2007/08.
How does this differ across London boroughs?
Level 3 attainment gap between Free School Meals and non-Free School Meals students at 19 years-of-age by London borough (2024/25)
A majority of boroughs have seen the attainment gap increase by more than 1 percentage point over the last 5 years, in some boroughs it has widened significantly.
Since 2019/20, the following boroughs saw a widening of the attainment gap of more than 5 percentage points: Harrow (+9.3 ppt), Kensington and Chelsea (+8.2ppt), Barking and Dagenham (+5.7ppt) and Southwark (+5.4ppt).
However, in some boroughs the attainment gap has shrunk. The boroughs that have seen the biggest decreases since 2019/20 are Camden (-5.2ppt), Kingston upon Thames and Havering (both -4.3ppt).
Want to know more?
If you want to explore this data in more depth, check the 'data source and notes' button on the above charts. This will tell you where the data comes from, where you may be able to dig deeper.