Education in Islington has been praised in a report reviewing the performance over the last year.<br><br>The successful partnership between Islington Council's contractor for education services - Cambridge Education @ Islington – and schools across the borough has produced plenty of positive news in the last year. <br><br>Children aged 11 are doing significantly better in their Key Stage 2 tests, particularly in English and maths, where Islington is the most improved authority in inner London and one of the most improved nationally. Islington schools have also shot up the national league tables for the progress they make between key stages in their education. <br> <br>The report praised Islington's GCSE results, which in 2007 were its best-ever. Black and ethnic minority pupils in particular, made impressive progress, with 54 per cent gaining 5 A* to C grades. Schools minister Lord Adonis recently visited Islington and commented on the 'growing success' of its secondary schools.<br><br>Executive Member for Children and Young People, Ursula Woolley said: "It doesn't surprise me that this report commends the work that our education services have been doing. I'm delighted that education in the borough is continuing to improve and that more and more parents are now choosing Islington schools for their children. I and everyone involved want to continue to make more big improvements for our children and young people into the future."<br><br>In the current academic year, Ofsted have inspected eight primary schools and one secondary school in Islington. None of the schools were found to be less than 'satisfactory', with most being judged as 'good'. Four of the schools were also deemed to have 'outstanding features', most particularly in the area of leadership and management. No schools in Islington have been given a notice to improve, compared with the national rate of around 5 per cent. <br><br>Eleanor Schooling, Director of Education Services for Cambridge Education @ Islington, said: " Children and young people in Islington are able to go to some really good schools, and are doing better and better in examinations and tests. We have worked closely with schools and others to make this a reality and I am particularly pleased that our work in helping schools to improve has been acknowledged both by the Government and Ofsted. We will go on putting our energies into making our schools better still and improving the life chances of our young people." <br><br><br><br>
Page Last Updated: 17 December 2009