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The government is rapidly expanding its Rise programme to export the methods behind London\u2019s school turnaround to hundreds of struggling schools across England after A\u2011level results exposed growing gaps between the capital and parts of the north and Midlands. Ministers promise more advisers, partner trusts and targeted funding of up to \u00a3200,000, but critics warn a top\u2011down, short\u2011term push risks repeating past mistakes without sustained local capacity and long\u2011term investment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Ministers have unveiled an accelerated plan to transplant the methods behind London\u2019s dramatic school turnaround to England\u2019s most underperforming areas, claiming the aim is to close widening regional attainment gaps exposed by this summer\u2019s exam results. The education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said the government was \u201ctaking the best\u201d from the London Challenge and applying it nationwide through a stepped\u2011up Regional Improvement for Standards and Excellence programme, known as Rise. Speaking to The Guardian, Phillipson framed the move as a response to A\u2011level data that laid bare \u201cyawning attainment gaps\u201d between London and large parts of the north and Midlands.<\/p>\n
But opposition voices warn that this is yet another centrally driven, quick\u2011fix scheme that risks pouring taxpayer money into a top\u2011down reform without tackling the deeper, locally rooted causes of inequality. Reform UK argues that real reform should empower schools and parents, not bureaucrats, and that an over\u2011reliance on advisers and pooled funding will do little to shift outcomes where it matters most: in classrooms, not in quarterly dashboards.<\/p>\n
The Rise programme, first set out in a Department for Education (DfE) announcement earlier in the year, is being expanded rapidly. Ministers say they will double the number of schools receiving intensive support from the regional teams, matching struggling schools with experienced advisers and partner trusts and providing targeted funding to enable transformation. The sums on offer have evolved as the policy has been rolled out: a February DfE press notice signalled up to \u00a3100,000 of initial funding for eligible schools, while later briefings accompanying the summer expansion have described packages of up to \u00a3200,000 spread over two years for schools that produce approved improvement plans. The department also points to a growing cohort of expert advisers being deployed to work at pace with schools.<\/p>\n
Official statistics underline both the scale of the task and the evidence base used to target help. The DfE\u2019s technical bulletin defines the cohort of \u201cstuck\u201d schools and shows that, as at 28 February 2025, there were 657 such schools attended by some 312,000 pupils; of those, a smaller subset had been judged eligible for the targeted Rise interventions in the programme\u2019s initial phases. Earlier this year the department identified roughly 600 schools needing urgent support and matched more than 200 of them with advisers and partners to draw up plans before release of dedicated funding. The numbers demonstrate why ministers argue an intensified, data\u2011driven approach is necessary.<\/p>\n
The immediate political impetus for the expansion was the A\u2011level picture released in August, which showed top\u2011grade outcomes rising nationally but the gap between London and several other regions widening. London recorded roughly 32% of entries at A* or A this year compared with about 23% in the north\u2011east, a divergence widely reported in press coverage and cited by ministers as evidence of entrenched regional inequality. Those disparities are reflected in longer\u2011term progression too: DfE statistics on higher education participation show that more than half of pupils eligible for free school meals in inner London progress to higher education by age 19, while comparable rates in regions such as the north\u2011east and East Midlands remain in the low\u201120s per cent. Ministers say this gap in life chances is what the Rise rollout is intended to tackle.<\/p>\n
Supporters of the London model argue there are clear lessons to transfer. Former education secretary David Blunkett and Sir Kevan Collins, who led aspects of the original London Challenge and now advises on school improvement, welcomed the renewed focus on early, radical intervention. As reported in The Guardian, Collins stressed the need for urgency \u2014 \u201cthe emphasis [of Rise] is all about pace\u201d \u2014 arguing that decline becomes embedded if not tackled quickly. Jon Coles, the director of the London Challenge at its launch and now chief executive of a large academy trust, told The Guardian that London\u2019s experience showed change was possible but required strong leadership, collaboration across boundaries and a sustained, high\u2011profile programme of work. Independent analysis of the London reforms by policy researchers has credited the capital\u2019s gains to intensive use of data, focused leadership development, collaborative partnerships and community engagement \u2014 elements ministers say Rise will emulate.<\/p>\n
That prescription \u2014 while evidence\u2011based \u2014 also carries practical caveats. The DfE\u2019s own publications note that the number of advisers and the initial funding envelope are modest relative to the scale of need; an April government update highlighted a marked increase in adviser numbers and a \u00a320 million backing for the programme, but analysts point out that sustained, multi\u2011year investment is needed if improvement is to be consolidated across hundreds of schools. The Centre for London\u2019s review of the London Challenge cautions that success depended not just on central funding but on consistent local leadership, sufficient capacity in multi\u2011academy trusts and effective partnership with local authorities and communities \u2014 factors that vary substantially between places. Scaling a high\u2011intensity, London\u2011style approach into areas with different labour markets, recruitment challenges and local governance will therefore be complex.<\/p>\n
If Rise is to avoid being another short, high\u2011profile intervention, education experts say ministers will need to combine the immediate, targeted packages now being promised with longer\u2011term commitments: a stable funding trajectory, clear accountability measures, and investment in the pipeline of local leadership and teaching capacity. The DfE\u2019s targeting framework provides the technical means to identify where help is needed; what remains to be demonstrated is whether government, local leaders and school partners will replicate at scale the sustained, collaborative effort that underpinned London\u2019s decade\u2011long improvement. For parents and pupils in the regions flagged by this summer\u2019s results, the coming academic year will be the first real test of whether the heightened rhetoric translates into real improvements on the ground.<\/p>\n
From Reform UK\u2019s standpoint, the real test is not the speed of rollout but the quality and durability of outcomes. The party insists that any expansion must come with genuine school autonomy, meaningful parental choice, and funding that follows pupils to the schools best suited to their needs\u2014rather than a centrally imposed blueprint. Without such reforms, the supposed gains risk becoming another expensive public sector exhibit with limited lasting impact. The opposition\u2019s call is clear: empower schools, empower communities, and demand accountability that lasts beyond a two\u2011year funding window. Only then, they argue, will London\u2019s lessons translate into nationwide improvement that endures.<\/p>\n