Find out how your school fared in the primary league table

Disadvantaged pupils should not be used as an excuse for chronically under-achieving schools, the head of Ofsted warned.

The education watchdog revealed more than 120 schools have consistently under-performed for a decade, with chief inspector Amanda Spielman saying the schools had unstable leadership, problems recruiting, and high proportions of deprived students.

But she hit out at the culture of ‘disadvantage one-upmanship’ in her first annual report, insisting: “Schools with all ranges can and do succeed.”

It came as in the Black Country, Staffordshire and Wyre Forest, 24 primaries failed to hit benchmark targets in reading, writing and maths over the last year.

Dudley dropped to 143rd in the country in the national league tables – despite an improvement in the number of children hitting benchmark grades.

Across the borough, 55 per cent of pupils achieved the expected standard in reading, writing and maths. It marked a six per cent improvement on last year but still saw the authority slip 21 places in the rankings.

Dudley’s best performing school was Our Lady and St Kenelm in Halesowen, which saw 97 per cent of 34 pupils eligible for the tests achieve benchmark grades.

Brierley Hill Primary School in Mill Street came second on 90 per cent, while Pedmore Church of England Primary School was third on 81 per cent.

Councillor Anne Millward said: “We recognise that in a number of schools attainment remains below expected levels."

Almost six in 10 pupils in Sandwell’s primary schools achieved the expected standards in reading, writing and maths over the past year.

However, the borough dropped 10 places in the national league tables to a share of 115th place.

The results put Sandwell second out of the Black Country’s four local authorities.

The top performing primary in Sandwell was Ocker Hill Academy in Tipton, where 92 per cent of 59 pupils hit the benchmark standard.

St John Bosco Catholic Primary School in West Bromwich was second with 90 per cent of 30 pupils achieving the required levels.

Primary school results in Staffordshire saw a marked improvement over the last year as the county surged up the national league tables.

Across the county 63 per cent of pupils achieved the Government’s benchmark standard, up 10 per cent from 2016.

It means Staffordshire has moved 27 places up the national table to hold a share of 55th place.

Colwich Primary School in Stafford was the county’s top performer, with all 22 pupils eligible for tests hitting the required levels.

St Bernadette’s Catholic Primary School in Wombourne received the same 100 per cent record for 11 pupils, and St Mary’s Catholic Primary in Stafford also struck a full house with 10 pupils.

Philip White, Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for learning and employability, said: We’re delighted to see the improvements in pupil’s attainment during 2017 and it’s the result of a lot of hard work by a great deal of pupils, teachers, parents and governors.

“Schools are becoming increasingly autonomous and it is the responsibility of governing bodies to drive improvement and sustain performance levels.”

The town plummeted down the national rankings for primary school achievement and now has only two local authorities beneath it.

Walsall saw an improvement in the number of children achieving the expected standards in reading, writing and maths – up three per cent to 53 per cent.

But the rate of improvement fell behind the vast majority of the rest of the country.

Walsall Council’s cabinet member for children’s services, Councillor Aftab Nawaz, has put the borough’s poor performance down to funding cuts in education.

He said that since ‘the onset of austerity’ in 2010, schools had been ‘wholly underfunded’.

Wolverhampton’s primary schools were the best out of the Black Country authorities for the second consecutive year.

Across the city, 60 per cent of 11-year-old pupils reached the required levels in reading, writing and maths.

It means seven per cent more pupils hit the benchmark rating than last year, although the authority fell 10 places in the national table to joint 92nd.

The best school in the city was Manor Primary in Coseley, where all 59 pupils reached the required standards. St Bartholomew’s CofE Primary was second on 95 per cent. The school’s multi-academy trust advises four other schools in the city, including Woodlfield Junior School in Penn, which saw achievement leap from 36 per cent to 55 per cent over the last year.

Trust executive headteacher Kate Kent said: “We are really pleased with the improvements over the past year and expect further improvements in the coming year.”

St Jude’s CofE Academy surged up the rankings to eighth place.