A new study, conducted by the Financial Times (FT), has underlined the remarkable turnaround in performance from state schools in London over the last decade or so.

The newspaper has, in fact, claimed that state schools in the capital have become the best in the country, contradicting popular perception of the institutions.

Last year, for example, pupils in London outperformed pupils from elsewhere in five GCSEs, including maths and English.

And according to Chris Cook, the education correspondent at the FT, the overall performance of London is even more impressive once poverty is factored into the results.

The news has been warmly welcomed by a spokeswoman for the Department for Education, who explained that London schools have made "great strides in recent years and should be congratulated on their improvement".

"Great leadership, high-quality teaching, the success of academies and strong partnerships, where strong schools support weaker ones, have driven this progress in London," she added.

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