Devon schools above national average on exams

Pupils in Devon schools are doing better than their colleagues in tests right through their primary and secondary careers.

New figures released by Devon County Council show that local children are beating the national and regional averages in tests in every single phase of compulsory education.

In Early Years, 68 per cent of children in Devon are achieving a good level of development compared to 60 per cent nationally and 62 per cent regionally.

This places Devon in the top ten of local authorities throughout the country, according to research by University College London.

In the Key Stage 1 tests, which children take at seven years old, the Devon results for reading at the expected Level 2 or above are up to 91.1 per cent this year compared to 89.7 per cent nationally and 90 per cent in the South West.

Writing stands at 88.3 per cent compared with 86.2 per cent nationally and 87 per cent regionally and maths is up to 94 per cent in Devon compared with 92.1 per cent nationally and 93 per cent in the South West.

In this summer’s SATs tests, which children take at the end of their primary career at 11 years old, Devon schools recorded 80.6 per cent achieving the expected Level 4 and above in reading, writing and maths.

That’s four per cent up on last year and two per cent above the national average for 2014. In the South West the figure is 78 per cent.

And in this year’s GCSE results, 56.1 per cent of Devon’s students achieved five or more A*-C grades including English and maths compared with 55.9 per cent in all State funded schools.

Devon’s Cabinet member for schools, James McInnes, said: “I want to  congratulate our schools and their pupils, students and staff for out-performing the national measures right across their education careers.

“Devon County Council is still one of the lowest-funded education authorities in the country by the Government.

“That means our schools are some of the lowest-funded in the country. 

“Despite that, with the leadership of  dedicated heads and governors, the hard work of teachers, staff and pupils and the support of parents and families, Devon is doing its very best to give our young people the best start in life we can.”

Devon’s head of education and learning, Sue Clarke, said: “We want Devon schools to be in the top ten nationally across the board.

“We are now working closely with schools on improving the educational outcomes for all our children.

“So we are particularly focusing on raising the attainment of boys, for children in care and for children receiving free school meals.”