Pupils’ best still below the average (From Salisbury Journal)

Pupils’ best still below the average

5:00pm Friday 26th October 2012 in Headlines By Miranda Robertson

HAMPSHIRE primary school pupils have not done as well as the national average in Key Stage 2 English this year, figures from the Department of Education reveal.

But they have achieved their highest ever scores in the tests this year, and the number of pupils exceeding expectations for their age in the county is above the national average.

The tests, taken in the pupils’ final year in primary school, show 87 per cent of pupils reached the required standard of level 4 in English and 87 per cent reached level 4 in maths.

Their results match the national average of 87 per cent for maths, but fall short of the national average of 89 per cent in English.

For Hampshire, the results are a three per cent improvement on last year in English, and four per cent higher in maths.

The percentage of pupils achieving level 5, which indicates that they are working at a level above that expected for their age, is 41 per cent for English, which is eight per cent up on last year, and 45 per cent for maths, which is seven per cent up.

The percentage of pupils achieving level 4 or above in both subjects was 82 per cent – the national figure is 79 per cent.

Roy Perry, Hampshire County Council's executive lead member for children services, said: “These are a really excellent set of results overall and I congratulate pupils and staff at our primary schools for their achievements.

“Our schools will continue to be ambitious for their pupils and focus their efforts on ensuring all pupils aspire to make the most of their primary education to build good foundations to take them on to their next stage of learning at secondary schools.”