Giving Compass' Take:

• Inequalities based on school location are apparent in England. Poor students in London perform far better academically than their counterparts in northern and rural England. 

• How can policy create more equitable school environments? Can philanthropy support poor students in less-served areas to help make up the difference? 

• Things are not different in America: Students in rural America have lower college enrollment than their urban counterparts. 

It's one in a line of reports pointing to the deep discrepancies that exist between England's schools in all areas of the country.

And it's not always as simple as north vs south.

So what's driving the divide?

There were higher proportions of children claiming free school meals in the north of England and in the West Midlands than in most of the south in January 2017.

Free school meals are often used as a measure of how many children are living with some level of disadvantage.

The link between deprivation and how well children do at school has been well-documented.

In 2015, the government produced figures on multiple indices of deprivation looking at seven main things:

  • Income
  • Employment
  • Health deprivation and disability
  • Education, skills, and training
  • Barriers to housing and services
  • Crime
  • Living environment

Some of the most and least deprived neighborhoods can be found all over the country. The figures show that 60% of local authority districts contain at least one of the most deprived neighborhoods in England.

Children receiving free school meals in London do much better than children receiving free school meals in all other regions.

But there are particular concentrations of deprivation in the north of England, in coastal towns and in major cities including London and Birmingham.

Read the full article on inequalities in England's schools by Rachel Schraer at BBC