People working in primary and secondary teaching jobs in London have performed a minor miracle over the past decade. They have turned the capital's schools into some of the best in the country with the help of a city-wide scheme called the London Challenge.

This was a school improvement programme set up in 2003, tasked with changing the fortunes of low-performing secondary schools across London's boroughs. Later in 2008, primary schools were added to the initiative. 

Since its inception London secondary schools have continued to improve and now the average attainment of their pupils is above the national average. Considering that just over a decade ago, parents were moving out of the capital to avoid sending their children to schools in the local catchment area this is a massive achievement. Statistically, in 1997, only 16 per cent of London students gained five GCSEs at grade C or above and now London boroughs make up 50 per cent of the 20 highest performing local authorities in England.

London leaving the UK behind

The success of the London Challenge showed that pupils from poorer backgrounds can succeed with the help of dedicated teachers who have the full backing of the educational system. However, the latest Pisa report revealed the rest of the UK is having trouble doing this. It said: "As in many other countries, socioeconomically disadvantaged students in the UK are less likely to succeed at school than their more advantaged peers. However, some countries are more successful than the UK in reducing the influence of socioeconomic status on student performance."

If the strategy that propelled the London Challenge could be applied nationwide, could the UK's educational system improve at the rate it wants to? The core values of the scheme were built around a commitment to breaking the correlation between deprivation and attainment and this means adopting a zero tolerance of low expectations as well as keeping a close eye on pupil progress. 

Teaching inspiration

One of the first areas to adopt the key cornerstones of the London Challenge is Norfolk. The local county council is taking inspiration from the capital's success in the hope that it can inform its own strategies to support school improvement.

David Woods, the former history teacher and teacher training lecturer who become chief education advisor for London, states: "deprivation is not destiny" and it is the role of the local and national education systems not to let pupils down. 

Speaking about transitioning the Challenge framework to other areas, Mr Woods told EDP24: "Every school in London was put in a family simply based on prior attainment and deprivation. It knocked away the excuses we had in those days that 'How can we possibly do better because of the level of deprivation?'.

"You have probably got some of that in Norfolk. If they have all got 70 per cent on free school meals and a school down the road has got twice the literacy, that knocks that argument away."

Once these families of schools are established, the four divisions of the challenge - the school, the leader, the teacher, and the student - know what they have to achieve and this allows them to offer each other help, such as coaching or one-to-one support for teachers.

Another element of the London Challenge that can be used across the country to help eradicate the link between deprivation and lack of academic success is the implementation of new teaching programmes. These help lift teaching skills from satisfactory to good and good to excellent and the introduction of a chartered teachers status also boots morale and self-esteem - something that would not go amiss anywhere in the UK right now.

Furthermore, it would be simple enough to recreate the ten-point Pupil Pledge seen during the height of the London Challenge's success. This outlined the opportunities the city would provide for all secondary school students by the time they reached 16, as well as more immediate recognition via awards and celebrations.

Academy problems

However, one aspect of the Challenge will be difficult to replicate. Not due to geographical changes, but to political shifts and the passing of time. The hard edge of the Challenge was the threat of academisation, the stick to the carrot of the rest of the plans. Now many councils will find that a high percentage of their schools already have academy status. Schools will also owe some allegiance to chain that runs them, so widespread communication between competing sponsors may also be an issue.

When Ofsted reviewed the London Challenge in 2010, the overwhelming feeling of responsibility among teachers for all London children - not just their own pupils - was very evident. Surely the future of the nation's children should be enough to instil a sense of collective responsibility even in a fragmented educational sector?