OXFORDSHIRE is the highest-ranking county in England for adults with A level-equivalent qualifications.

New data from the Department for Education this month reveals 69 per cent of 16-64-year-olds in the county have a Level 3 or above qualification.

Level 3 qualifications include A levels, advanced apprenticeships and the International Baccalaureate.

Nineteen other upper tier local authorities ranked higher than Oxfordshire, however these were cities or London boroughs.

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Oxfordshire County Council chair John Howson said: “When you consider the size of the county, up against some of the others, it’s pretty good.

“The percentage of people with no Level 3 qualification should be going down too because if you’re not in school, you should hopefully be on an apprenticeship.

“It means as a county, we can support businesses which need higher skills.”

The City of London topped the figures with 94.8 per cent holding a Level 3 qualification, although it has a very small sample size compared to other local authorities.

The London boroughs of Wandsworth and Richmond upon Thames were second (79.2 per cent) and third (78.7 per cent) respectively.

The next counties after Oxfordshire were Surrey (67.5 per cent) and Buckinghamshire (66.4 per cent).

Data for the analysis was sourced from the Annual Population Survey, for the 12-month periods ending December 2017, 2018 and 2019.

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