CITY school pupils have notched up their best Sats test results for more than 15 years – with more 11-year-olds reaching the national benchmark in reading, writing and maths.
Results released by the Department for Education show that there has been a substantial improvement since Nottingham City Council took control of education in 1998, when a little over half of children were reaching the Government.
However, despite the progress, Nottingham primaries still have some way to go to catch up with the national average performance, with more than one in four children not up to scratch in these core subjects.
Councillor Sam Webster, executive assistant for schools at the city council, said: "We are delighted with the results this year and congratulate all the pupils and teachers at our schools for their hard work and dedication."
Schools are generally judged on how many of their children achieve level four in writing and reading tests and in maths.
More than 2,000 in Nottingham – 73 per cent – did reach this level but the remainder moved to secondary school without doing so. This is below the national average of 79 per cent.
This year also saw boys catching up – with 70 per cent of them getting level four compared with 77 per cent of the girls. Mr Webster added: "Closing the gap between boys and girls is a national concern and we have been putting extra effort into ensuring that both achieve the very best that they can."
In Nottinghamshire, 6,000 children – 78 per cent – reached the national benchmark for reading, writing and maths.
But the importance of the Sats tests has been called into question.
Ivan Wels, of the National Union of Teachers' Notts branch, said he was pleased children had performed well but added: "The tests are unfair on them. Primary education shouldn't be about testing children in this way. It should be more about preparing children for life."
HERE'S how Nottingham compares to other areas in the East Midlands with its Sats results:
Nottingham: 73%
Notts: 78%
Derby: 75%
Derbyshire: 80%
Leicester: 73%
Leicestershire: 78%
Lincolnshire: 76%
England: 79%
(The above figures are the percentage of 11-year-old children who achieved level four - the expected level - or above in reading and maths tests and written teacher assessments combined in summer 2014)
And here's how Nottingham's and Nottinghamshire's figures compare over the past five years:
2014
Nottingham: 73%
Notts: 78%
2013
Nottingham: 72%
Notts: 77%
2012
Nottingham: 69%
Notts: 77%
2011
Nottingham: 71%
Notts: 77%
2010
Nottingham: 56% *
Notts: 62% *
(* indicates that the figures were from a year when there was a huge boycott of Sats exams).
