Three Islington primary schools have been confirmed among the top fifty in the country for the progress their pupils have made at Key Stage 2.
The 2008 validated Key Stage 2 results - for the tests taken by children in their last year of primary school - were released by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCFS) on Wednesday 1 April. The results confirm that Grafton, Laycock and Robert Blair primary schools are all in the top fifty in the country for their Contextual Value Added (CVA) scores.
CVA scores measure how much a school has improved its pupils' achievements since they took their first set of exams in 2005. It takes into account factors affecting performance which are outside the school’s control, such as economic deprivation and special needs. Grafton is ranked joint 16th in the country, whilst Laycock is joint 23rd and Robert Blair joint 36th.
In other measures, Islington schools have also shown significant improvements. The percentage of pupils who achieved level 4 and above in English improved by one point on 2007’s previous all-time high, reaching 78 per cent.
In maths, the 2007 ‘best-ever’ result was bettered by 2 per cent to reach 76 per cent, and in science, the percentage of pupils reaching level 4 and above matched the 85 per cent that was achieved in 2007.
Islington Council's Executive Member for Children and Young People, Councillor Paula Belford said:
“This news is really fantastic. Islington's primary schools have improved on 2007’s very successful results, which were, at the time, the best that had ever been achieved in the borough. It's clear that all the hard work put in by our primary schools is paying off.
These results, along with all of the recent positive Ofsted inspections in our primary schools, show that our children are being well-prepared for the next phase of their school careers at secondary school. Congratulations to the pupils and all the staff and parents who have been involved in helping them to achieve this success.”
Certain schools have particular reason to feel pleased with their performance. Year 6 pupils at Yerbury School achieved 100 per cent in all three subjects, whilst at Highbury Quadrant School, results in English, maths, and science rose by 27 per cent, 18 per cent and 10 per cent respectively.
Corporate Director of Children’s Services, Eleanor Schooling, said:
“These results continue to provide good news for our primary schools and the borough’s children. Not only have our schools bettered our previous ‘best-ever’ results from last year, but the all-round educational experience provided by our schools has been praised in a succession of highly positive OFSTED inspection reports this year. It is due to the hard work being put in by both pupils and staff in schools, and to the quality of support being provided by parents, school governors and a range of other agencies, that our primary schools find themselves in a healthier position than ever before.”
ENDS.
Page Last Updated: 12 June 2009