"Saints" go marching to top of school league tables


The latest figures from the Department for Education (DfE) show a total of 79 per cent of 11-year-olds in the area achieved the expected level-four grade in their reading, writing and maths assessments earlier this year.
Pupils at St Alban’s Church of England School in Wickersley found themselves top of the class - where 100 per cent of pupils achieved the benchmark grade.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe school was ranked as the 32nd best primary school in the country.
St Gerard’s Catholic Primary School and Wentworth Church of England Junior and Infant School also celebrated 100 per cent records.
But St Ann’s Junior and Infant School in Eastwood saw just 26 per cent of its pupils achieve the grade.
Lee Rowan, joint headteacher at the school, said: “The league tables do not give a true indication of how well this school is performing - the context is not taken into account.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“A truer picture about the school is shown in our progress scores. These show that children who have been in school for more than four years are making expected or more than expected progress in reading, writing and maths and progress figures were close to or above the national average and have been for the past three years.”
Rotherham Council said it was pleased the gap between the district’s schools and the national average - 80 per cent of pupils achieving level-four or above - had reduced to just one per cent.
A spokesman said the percentage of youngsters achieving the benchmark grade had increased ten per cent since 2013.
For more reaction to the league tables, see this week’s Advertiser.