Walsall primary schools among worst in country

Ofsted's annual report revealed the borough slumped to 143rd place out of 150 local authorities for youngsters attending good or outstanding primary schools.

The figure of 71 per cent of pupils attending primaries that meet the Government's benchmark standard puts Walsall in the bottom 5 per cent in the country.

Responding to the damning report, Walsall council's education chief has moved to reassure parents that the authority is 'working hard' to improve the life chances of youngsters.

The report shows there are now 3 per cent more better rated primary schools in the borough than there were in 2014 - although the improvement still leaves Walsall lagging 14 per cent below the national average.

The borough's secondary schools came 116th in the country, with 67 per cent of children attending schools rated good or outstanding, a rise of 10 per cent on 2014.

Councillor Chris Towe, Walsall Council's education chief, said: "Walsall children deserve the very best. So, firstly I'd like to reassure parents that we are passionate about driving up standards.

"In fact it's worth stating that Walsall currently sits 67th out of 150 most improved local authorities, which is a better reflection on how hard everyone is working in Walsall to strengthen life chances for our children.

"It's also worth saying that these Ofsted figures should not be looked at in isolation - as this year's performance also shows that there is year on year improvement."

In September the authority strengthened its school improvement team by appointing two senior education specialists in a bid to raise standards.

The report also showed that almost eight in 10 secondary school pupils in Walsall attend academies. For primary school children the figure is 17 per cent.

Nationally the number of pupils attending good or outstanding schools averaged 85 per cent for primaries and 73.5 per cent for secondary schools.

Elsewhere in the Black Country Wolverhampton was joint 135th in the country for primaries on 74 per cent.

Dudley came top across the region in joint 59th spot with 87 per cent of pupils attending schools that meet the Government benchmark, while Sandwell was 98th on 83 per cent.

Meanwhile Staffordshire dropped five places to 112th.

Wolverhampton came top across the region for secondary schools, jumping 28 places in the national table to joint 81st spot, with 77 per cent of pupils attending good or outstanding schools. This was up 9 per cent on 2013/14.

Sandwell - where 70 per cent of pupils attend academies - was the worst performing borough in the region in joint 130th position.

Dudley rose four places to 123rd spot on 63 per cent, while Staffordshire fell 17 places to 109th in the country.