Schools on the way up

Primary schools in the West Midlands showed significant improvements in today's league tables for 11-year-olds.

The upward trend was led by Sandwell, which dragged itself out of England's bottom 10 by rising four places. Walsall rose 19 places, Wolverhampton was up five places and Dudley nine places.

Staffordshire dropped slightly but still found itself in the top half for the performance of children in Sats tests taken in May.

Today's results also marked remarkable achievements for individual schools in the region.

Manor Junior and Infant School in Bilston, Wolverhampton, has risen from a school with mediocre results eight years ago to one named as the sixth best in the country today.

Headteacher Anita Cliff took over when just 44 per cent of key stage two pupils were hitting the Government target for English, maths and science.

The latest results show 100 per cent of 11-year-olds in the school hitting the level four standard.

Mrs Cliff, which has brought in after-school clubs in movie-making and Spanish, said: "We are delighted. It is all about making pupils believe in themselves."

Walsall's Watling Street Primary School was also celebrating today after coming fourth in the country for 'added value' - a score based on how pupils have improved on last year.

Ministers today claimed that attainment nationally had never been higher, and pointed to the way many 11-year-olds reached levels expected of children three years older.

But the tables also confirm the government missed its target for the percentage of children reaching the normal primary school standard, known as Level 4.

The national averages were 79 per cent in English, 76 per cent in maths and 87 per cent in science.

The Government target - already postponed from 2004 - had been 85 per cent in English and maths.

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