20% of London pupils leave primary school unable to read or count

 
12 December 2013

More than one in five children in London left primary school this year without reaching basic levels in reading, writing and maths, new figures reveal today.

Almost 17,000 11-year-olds failed to get to ‘Level 4’, which is considered the minimum benchmark, in their SATs tests in all three subjects, according to analysis by the Evening Standard.

Our league tables, published today based on data from the department for education, reveal that 21 per cent of children who took the tests started at secondary school in September already behind their peers. This compares to last year when 18 per cent of London children failed to reach Level 4.

But children in London schools continued to outperform those in other areas. In London, 79 per cent of pupils reached the benchmark this year, compared to 75 per cent nationally.

The exams this year, which children took in May, were tougher to pass than in previous years. For the first time 11-year-olds had to reach Level 4 in both a reading and a writing test.

A spokesman for the Department for Education said the tougher target was brought in to drive up standards and end “years of entrenched failure”. Schools must ensure at least 60 per cent of children pass all three tests and meet pupil progress measures to pass the government’s floor target.

The data reveals 81 London schools are in danger of falling below this goal. It means they are at risk of being put into “special measures” by Ofsted and turned into an academy.

Nationally, 767 primary schools fell below the floor target.

A spokesman for the Department for Education said: “Schools with a long history of under-performance which are not stepping up to the mark will be taken over by an academy sponsor. The expertise and strong leadership provided by sponsors is the best way to turn around weak schools and give pupils there the best chance of a first-class education.”

According to the tables, the best school in London is Grinling Gibbons primary school in Lewisham. It was one of 40 London schools with a 100 per cent pass rate for all three tests, and also scored well in the “value added” category which judges how well pupils improve after joining.

Harris Primary Academy Coleraine Park in Haringey was praised by the department for education after results improved by 23 percentage points.

Today’s results come after Ofsted’s first annual report about London found that inspection outcomes in the capital are the best in the country, and that poorer pupils do well.

But it also warned that children who do well at the age of 11 do not always go on to do well at GCSE.

Top 10 primary schools in London (based on Evening Standard analysis)

Grinling Gibbons, Lewisham

The Good Shepherd, Hammersmith and Fulham

Northwold, Hackney

St Joseph’s, Southwark

Fox, Kensington & Chelsea

Scotts, Havering

St Mark’s, Merton

St Joseph’s, Camden

St Patrick’s, Camden

St Thomas a Becket, Greenwich

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