Black Country and Staffordshire secondary schools below national average

Statistics released show all four authorities in the area fall below the national benchmark of 72 per cent of schools classed as either good or outstanding, with Staffordshire also falling below the standard required.

The figures - which relate to the watchdog's crucial rating of the overall effectiveness of a school - painted a particularly depressing picture of secondary education in Dudley.

Just 45 per cent of secondary schools in the borough are top rated, with the same number of schools deemed to require improvement.

The figure represents a drop in standards of more than 20 per cent in the past five years.

At the time the statistics were compiled in December last year ten per cent of Dudley's secondary schools were classed as inadequate, meaning inspectors highlighted serious weaknesses during their most recent visit.

In Sandwell the number of top rated schools is 54 per cent, whilst the figure is 65 per cent in Walsall, 68 per cent in Staffordshire and 69 per cent in Wolverhampton.

Dudley's education chief Councillor Tim Crumpton said he expected the 'deeply disappointing' figures to improve over the next 12 months.

He said: "The exam results achieved by Dudley secondary schools improved significantly in 2013 and were in-line with the national average.

"Despite this improvement, in the past 14 months Ofsted found a number of our secondary schools were not providing a good education.

"This is deeply disappointing and we are working with these schools to support their improvement.

"Each of them has been monitored by Ofsted which has noted their progress and we anticipate most will be re-inspected over the next year and will be judged to be at least good, if not better.

"This will be a significant step in our journey to ensure every school in Dudley is a good school by the end of 2015."

But Ian Austin, MP for Dudley North, criticised standards in the borough's secondary schools, calling them 'just not good enough.'

He said: "It's no use blaming Ofsted or looking for other excuses. I've been saying for ages that standards in too many schools are just not good enough and we as a community have got to make sure they improve.

"These figures underline the need for all of us – the council, parents and the community in general – to make education our number one priority.

Education bosses at Wolverhampton City Council hailed the continued improvement of the city's schools, which last year finished top of the Black Country pile for combined GCSE results.

James McElligott, Wolverhampton City Council's Assistant Director for Education and Enterprise, said: "We are pleased to continue making the steady improvement we have been making for a number of years and will continually strive to improve further.

"We are confident that by working together we can help more schools reach the necessary standards."

Mr McElligott credited the city's Building Schools for the Future programme as key to raising pupils' aspiration and achievement.

Wolverhampton North East MP Emma Reynolds added: "It is encouraging that there has been an improvement but we always need to do more.

"It would be nice to see the quality of our schools rise above the national average."

Ofsted's last annual report highlighted the West Midlands featured the lowest number of inadequate schools in the country. And the trend has continued, with the latest figures revealing Sandwell, Staffordshire and Wolverhampton do not have a single secondary school graded at the watchdog's bottom rung.