Westbourne Year 6 pupils smash national trends in literacy and numeracy

Westbourne School pupils’ attainment in maths and English defies the current national trend, in which a quarter of a million Year 6 pupils across the UK are set to enter secondary school without basic literacy and numeracy.

96% of our 2021-2022 Year 6 pupils reached ‘expected’ or ‘higher’ standard for maths and English respectively according to our most recent data from GL Assessment, the body responsible for measuring pupil performance. National averages for this year’s Year 6 paint a very different picture. Last month Rishi Sunak, Prime Minister, was warned that new evidence showed that 275,000 11-year-olds were leaving primary education without the right level of skills, according to researchers at the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) thinktank.

The above results for Westbourne also exceed Ministers’ targets to ensure that 90% of children achieve the national curriculum standard in reading, writing and maths at the end of primary education by 2030. Further, 59% of Westbourne’s Year 6 pupils  achieved above the expected standard for maths and 48% of the school’s Year 6 pupils achieved above the expected standard for English respectively.

Jon Clark, Westbourne Head of Junior School said:

“We are delighted to be able to equip our Year 6 pupils with vital numeracy and literacy skills, as they prepare for the next milestone in their education and the imminent move up to secondary school. This comes against the backdrop of the pandemic and two-years of severe disruption to education for children up and down the country.

“We wish our Year 6’s the best of luck as they prepare for Senior School, however it isn’t luck that has prepared them for this important next step in their education. Our rigorous tracking system harnesses data effectively to facilitate classroom teaching whether this is stretching our pupils or providing appropriate support. This powerful combination delivered by our professional and diligent staff team and small class sizes, where we nurture each pupil individually in all core subjects, continues to pay significant dividends for our children.”

You can read the national press article: Quarter of a million children enter secondary school without basic maths and English.