How did your child’s school do?

TABLES SHOW HOW SUNDERLAND’S PRIMARY SCHOOLS HAVE DONE IN NATIONAL CURRICULUM TESTS

The number of primary school pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths has risen again, official figures show.

We have taken a look at Department of Education figures on the Government website, and listed the top 20 schools in Sunderland, according to the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard when it comes to this year’s Key Stage 2 Sats tests.

Tables showing how well Sunderland’s primary schools are performing following this year’s Key Stage 2 national curriculum tests – commonly known as SATs – have been published.

According to the Department for Education (DfE), 68% of pupils on Wearside are meeting the national standard – higher than the national average of 64%.

The tables show that St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Voluntary Aided Primary School, in Rutland Street, Sunderland, fared best, with 97% of its pupils meeting the expected standard when it comes to reading, writing and maths.

Headteacher Damian Groark said: “We are utterly delighted that the committed pupils, dedicated staff, both teaching and non teaching and hugely supportive parents have all worked together to achieve this great honour.”

School Standards Minis- ter Nick Gibb praised Bexhill Academy for how it has helped disadvantaged pupils learn the basics in primary school.

Data shows disadvantaged pupils at Bexhill, in Bexhill Road, Sunderland, achieved better than average progress following this year’s Key Stage 2 national curriculum tests.

Mr Gibb said: “We are determined that all children, regardless of their background or circumstances, should fulfil their potential, and this means ensuring that they have a good grasp of reading, writing and maths by the time they leave primary school.

“These statistics show that Bexhill Academy, part of WISE Academies, is helping to achieve this aim by successfully ensuring that its pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds make better progress in primary school than the national average.”

“It is a shining example of how the freedoms afforded by academy status allow headteachers, teachers and governing bodies to make the decisions that are best for their communities, providing a high quality education for all their pupils.”

Ruth Walton, headteacher of Bexhill Academy, said the results were the outcome of four years of work to improve its children’s literacy, numerous and maths, using its pupil premium funding, which is given to help disadvantaged youngsters perform better and close the gap between them and their peers.”

Simon Marshall, Direc- tor of Education at Together for Children, which operates Sunderland’s children’s services said: “The latest league tables show that primary schools in our area continue to perform above national average.”

However, not everyone was in favour of the new tables.

Kevin Courtney, Joint General Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “The test scores reported by the Department for Education tell us little about the overall quality of children’s education, yet they continue to dominate many aspects of school life.”

“Primary schools continue to perform above national average”

SIMON MARSHALL