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Greater Manchester has officially been crowned the ‘smartest area’ of the UK

48% more students in Greater Manchester achieve the top GCSE grade of 9 in the core subjects of Maths, English, and Science than the average.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 26th January 2022

A new study has revealed that Greater Manchester has officially been crowned the smartest area of the UK.

According to the research, on average, 48% more students in Greater Manchester achieve the top GCSE grade of 9 in the core subjects of Maths, English Language and Literature, Chemistry, Biology, and Physics, than the average for all the regions on the list.

Greater Manchester also has over 200% more students attaining Grade 9s on average than Kent – which is the region where students achieve the fewest Grade 9s.  

The research – which has been carried out by international education providers Oxford Summer School – saw new data from the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) analysed to discover which areas in the UK achieved the highest average results for core GCSE subjects in 2021.  

Following Greater Manchester, Tyne and Wear is the second most intelligent area in the UK.

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45% more students in the North East area achieved a Grade 9 in the core subjects, than the average for all regions surveyed, and Tyne and Wear also has 214% more students attaining a Grade 9 in Maths, Science, and English Language and Literature, than Kent.

Greater Manchester has officially been crowned the smartest area of the UK / Credit: Unsplash (lilartsy)

Cambridgeshire is the third smartest region in the UK, with 44% more students in the area achieving a Grade 9 in the core subjects compared to the average, while Buckinghamshire and the Isle of Wight round out the top five.

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Cheshire claims the sixth spot, while fellow Northern regions of Cumbria and West Yorkshire claim places in the top 15.

Top 15 Most Intelligent Places in the UK 

  1. Greater Manchester
  2. Tyne and Wear
  3. Cambridgeshire
  4. Buckinghamshire
  5. Isle of Wight
  6. Cheshire
  7. West Midlands
  8. Essex
  9. Greater London
  10. Cumbria
  11. Hampshire
  12. Rutland
  13. Gloucestershire
  14. West Yorkshire
  15. Cornwall

At the other end of the scale, as already mentioned, Kent is the area where students achieve the lowest percentage of Grade 9s in the key GCSE subjects of Maths, Science and English Language – which is 53% less than the average for all regions.

Merseyside, Suffolk, and Surrey are all places that also rank lower on the list, with students achieving 33%, 25%, and 20% fewer Grade 9s at GCSE than the average for all UK areas.

Featured Image – Unsplash (Clay Banks)

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Electronic icons Kraftwerk announce first Manchester gig since 2017

Danny Jones Danny Jones Kraftwerk O2 Apollo Manchester tickets

Pioneering German band Kraftwerk have announced their first UK tour since 2017, with fans having to wait almost a decade for another Manchester gig.

Thankfully, they’ll be heading back down the Autobahn and across the channel for a return to our shores soon enough with a long-awaited list of British and Irish live dates.

Kraftwerk remains one of the most groundbreaking groups in the electronic scene to this day, having paved the way for generations of new artists to keep experimenting with the genre in the 50+ years since their formation.

Heading back to Manchester early next year, die-hards will no doubt snap these tickets faster than you can say ‘Das Model’.

For anyone unaware of these veritable legends of electronica and the world of alternative/Euro-synth pop, Kraftwerk formed all the way back in 1970 and went on to shape the modern music industry, bridging the gap between music and the digital age.

Best known for tracks like ‘Computer Love’, ‘The Robots’, ‘Pocket Calculator’ and the aforementioned on named after the national motorway network, they spearheaded futurism in the musical landscape from the outset.

It seems only fitting, therefore, that their upcoming highly anticipated return to the UK comes as part of their ‘Multimedia’ tour.

While they have played a number of live shows all over the globe this year, including an extensive run in the US, next spring will be our domestic visit from Kraftwerk in nine long years.

Credit: Press shot (supplied)

You can see the full list of UK and Ireland tour dates – including a handful of Northern gigs – down below:

Kraftwerk UK/IE tour dates 2026

May

  • 17 – Dublin, Bord Gais Energy Theatre
  • 18 – Belfast, Waterfront Hall
  • 21 – Wolverhampton, Civic Hall
  • 22 – Manchester, O2 Apollo
  • 25 – Glasgow, Royal Concert Hall
  • 27 – Stockton, Globe
  • 29 – Sheffield, City Hall
  • 30 – Brighton, Centre

June

  • 1 – Bristol, Beacon
  • 2 – Bournemouth, International Centre
  • 4 – London, Royal Albert Hall
  • 5 – London, Royal Albert Hall
  • 7 – Liverpool, Empire Theatre
  • 8 – Nottingham, Royal Concert Hall
  • 9 – Edinburgh, Playhouse

Spanning a total of 15 UK dates, as you can see, there will also be tickets to see Kraftwerk nearby in the likes of Liverpool and with our mates over in Sheffield.

Kraftwerk legend Ralf Hütter famously played a set inside our city’s velodrome at the National Cycling Centre for Manchester International Festival (MIF) back in 2009, and has collaborated with the event on multiple ocassions.

In fact, that very performance was seen as a turning point for MIF, so the Manc Kraftwerk connection speaks for itself; O2 members can obviously get pre-sale, but general admission tickets go live from 9am this Friday, 10 October.

Get ready to grab yours HERE.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra announce Manchester gig among just a handful of UK dates on European tour
This isn’t the only big alternative/electronic gig we’re looking forward to either…

Read more:

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Press shots (supplied)

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Britain has a new ‘favourite’ curry – and we’re absolutely ashamed of the nation…

Danny Jones Danny Jones Britain's favourite curry korma

Chicken tikka masala is reportedly no longer Britain’s ‘favourite’ curry, and after finding out what has replaced it, we have decided you all need to be stopped.

Following a study carried out by Foodhub for National Curry Week (3–9 October), researchers found that one dish overtook tikka masala as the most ordered curry in the UK. It’s chicken korma, apparently.

We’re not mad, we’re just disappointed and deeply, deeply confused.

For years, chicken tikka masala has been not only Britain’s favourite curry but the UK’s national dish – it’s a classic created by Indian migrants to appeal to the nation’s palate and has done so successfully for decades. We defy anyone to turn their noses up at a chicken tikka.

Now, everyone is entitled to their opinion and we’re not necessarily saying korma is a fundamentally bad curry, but it’s hardly ahead of favourites like a jalfrezi, a rogan josh or Smithy’s beloved bhunas — or so we thought.

In fact, sod it, we side with Smithy’s take on korma:

Strong order, to be fair.

Emma Stockman, a spokesperson for the food delivery service, said, “It is clear that curry is a staple dish when it comes to the UK’s takeaway favourites”, and that their findings “did not disappoint”.

Which results are you reading, Emma?

As explained, the long-reigning number one, chicken tikka, has dropped to second behind korma and chicken madras rounds off the top three when it comes to Britain’s favourite curry.

Despite us Mancs boasting the world-famous ‘Curry Mile’, the stats also supposedly showed that Carlisle was the city that ordered the most curry anywhere in the UK, averaging out at 3.5 times a week.

Meanwhile, 0161 was given the nickname ‘Naanchester’ as we apparently order an average of two naan breads per curry compared to other regions, with plain naan being the favourite.

Just plain? Come on. If you’re ordering as vanilla as that, you’d better at least be going bottomless with the actual main event — cue Manc curry kings, Zouk:

Read more:

If these numbers are to be trusted, this also begs the question as to what this means for the country’s national dish: having been chicken tikka for so long, is it now chicken korma?

Because, sorry, we’re just absolutely NOT having that…

Give it to the Sunday roast or fish and chips while you take a step back and look at what you’ve done.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Image — @potofgold07 (via Unsplash)/Hideya HAMANO (via Flickr)

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