’Schooled to fail'? Revisiting the Welsh school‐effect

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Abstract
There is increasing recognition that the education systems of England and Wales are separating, while the policy differences are leading to inevitable comparisons in terms of performance indicators. A straightforward comparison of the two regions on almost any indicator of initial‐education flatters England, and such comparisons have led some commentators to see this as a failing of the education system in Wales. This paper compares the GCSE benchmarks of all LEAs in England and Wales in the light of various social and geographical factors that have been shown to affect school performance. When these factors are used as the independent variables in a multiple regression analysis, no evidence is found of poor school performance in Wales.