The link between poverty and its effect on children’s education has been revealed in a report on London exam results.
The results, published in a Public Health England report on deprivation, appear to show a correlation between poor performance in GCSE exams and low household income.
Almost 20% of London boroughs ranked lower in secondary education than the national average and, in the lowest performing boroughs, almost half of students don’t even pass five GCSEs.
Dr Yvonne Doyle, regional director for PHE in London, said there is “evidence to suggest that there is a relationship between poverty and educational outcomes”, while adding there were a multitude of other factors to consider.
The five boroughs with London’s lowest GCSE results - Camden, Enfield, Lewisham, Lambeth and Barking & Dagenham – also have some of the highest numbers of children from poor homes, the report shows.
PHE’s Doyle said: ‘‘The causes of health inequalities are complex and result from a combination of factors related to daily life, including people’s incomes, employment, education and access to services. 
“PHE has a responsibility to measure and highlight inequality wherever it exists and to support local authorities to address it.”
She added that despite the results children in London generally perform better than children nationally.
London’s highest performing boroughs were affluent Kingston-upon-Thames and Richmond-upon-Thames, both with over 70% of their students achieving the five grades.
Interestingly, Tower Hamlets, the borough with the highest number of impoverished children in London, bucked the trend by having consistently good results in its schools.
The east London borough has over 18,000 children under the age of 16 living in low income families – nearly 35% – yet almost 65% of students manage to achieve five GCSEs.
Mayor of Tower Hamlets, John Biggs, said the results are “not an accident” and believes it could be down to hardworking families who have travelled to London from abroad.
He said: “A lot of people in the area are from a black and minority ethnic background or have come from overseas with their parents and people do not come to London to take it easy, so people come with a high level of motivation.
“It is not an accident and we are very proud of it.”
The mayor argued that the results demonstrate that it does not always require money - from wealthy parents or local authorities - for children to achieve good results.
“Money often helps, if you need that little extra support, but our schools are having to manage on less without, so far, slipping,” he said.
“It shows cash cannot buy you success without good teachers and leadership and a culture supporting excellence.
“And when we hear about the extra tutoring many children receive in middle class households, that is clearly not a factor for most families in the East End.”