Primary school league tables 2017: Improvement in tables for Shropshire schools

Schools run by Shropshire Council saw 62 per cent of pupils achieve the Government’s benchmark standard – up by 11 per cent from 2016 and higher than the national figure.

These tests from last summer’s national curriculum tests for 11 year olds were published this week.

First introduced in 2016, they were more demanding than in previous years and more was expected of pupils.

Many primary schools in the Shropshire Council area have achieved above the national average on all measures.

It comes after seven primary schools in Shropshire did not meet the Government's floor standard for performance – despite an overall improvement nationally.

Key to results:

A: Number of pupils eligible for assessment in National Curriculum Stage 2 tests.

B: Percentage of pupils achieving Level Four and above in reading.

C: Percentage of pupils achieving Level Four and above in writing.

D: Percentage of pupils achieving Level Four and above in maths.

E: School ranking within its own Local Education Authority

The percentage of Shropshire pupils achieving the expected standard or above in reading, writing and mathematics combined was 62 per cent compared to a national figure of 61 per cent, a rise for Shropshire of 11 per cent from 2016.

Bishop Hooper Church of England school in Ludlow, was Shropshire’s top performer, with all nine pupils eligible for tests hitting the required levels.

Nick Bardsley, Shropshire Council’s cabinet member for children’s services and education, praised the efforts of children, teachers, schools and the county’s wider school communities for their hard work.

He said: “Both the staff and the pupils in our schools have made great strides in coming to terms with the considerable changes of 2016, and this has resulted in even better outcomes this year. We have highly-committed school staff who ensure that pupils get the best possible start to their education and, while the standards they achieve in reading, writing and mathematics are only part of the picture, it is good to see Shropshire again riding high in the West Midlands and against our statistical neighbours.

“The proportion of pupils attaining the expected standard exceeded national expectation in the key skill of reading and was in line with the expectation in writing and maths.

“This provides pupils with a firm foundation on which to build their future educational success.” In each of reading and mathematics, 75 per cent of pupils achieved at least the expected standard, compared to the respective national figures of 71 and 75 per cent.

Writing was in line with the national average this year, with 76 per cent of pupils achieving or exceeding the expected standard.

These outcomes, when compared to the other 13 councils in the West Midlands, place Shropshire first in reading, third in mathematics and fifth in writing. When compared to 10 other similar councils, Shropshire was ranked first in all three subjects.