Southend-on-Sea pupils have received a welcome boost with the news that the area is in line with or above the national average for Key Stage 2 SATS.
This means pupils have been achieving the Government’s new expected standard in tests for reading, writing, maths and grammar, punctuation & spelling.
According to provisional data released by the Department for
Education, 78 per cent of the Borough’s year 6 pupils achieved at least the
expected standard in writing, compared to an England average of 74 per cent.
In maths, 70 per cent achieved the expected standard, in line with the national
figure and in reading, 66 per cent of local pupils achieved the expected
standard which is also in line with the national average.
More than half of Southend’s pupils (55 per cent) achieved at least the
expected standard in the combined reading, writing and maths measure – compared
with an England average of 53 per cent.
Cllr James Courtenay, Executive Councillor for Children and Learning, said: “I am delighted to see our schools and pupils continuing to achieve improved results, and achieve above national averages. These provisional results are very pleasing.
“As excellent as these results are, we cannot afford to take our foot off the pedal when it comes to our children’s education and there is still work to be done - ways we as an authority can better support our schools and their students to aim higher and give our students the best possible foundations for their journey into adulthood. Parents can rest assured that this is a challenge we are determined to continue tackling head on.”
Comparisons with previous years are not possible because this is the first year the new measures have been used.