Tameside schools fail to make the grade

Reading, writing and maths skills are improving in Greater Manchester, but almost half of kids leaving primary schools in some areas are still failing to meet standards.

New education attainment figures show Trafford has the highest rates of pupils meeting standards in reading, writing and maths outside London, while neighbouring Manchester has among the lowest rates in the country.

Figures for the 2023/24 academic year in Manchester show 54 per cent of 11-year-old children met each of the three Key Stage 2 standards. For the same period all councils in the Greater Manchester region have passed the 50 per cent mark, but five of the ten authorities are below the national average of 60 per cent.

In Oldham only 54 per cent met the standards, and in Rochdale it was 56 per cent. The other two Greater Manchester councils below the national average were Salford on 58 per cent and Tameside, where 59 per cent of 11-year-olds reached the standard.

Official data shows that 60 per cent of 11-year-olds across England made the grade in the three core subjects in 2023/24.

Five Greater Manchester boroughs exceeded that with Trafford showing a 70 per cent attainment rate, the highest for any area outside London. Other boroughs in the region above the national average were Bolton (62 per cent), Bury (63 per cent), while Wigan and Stockport both recorded figures of 64 per cent.

However, pupils are struggling in some parts of the country much more than in ours. Only 51 per cent of children in Portsmouth and the Isle of White met each of the reading, writing and maths standards in their Key Stage 2 results.

That means 49 per cent fell short. In Central Bedfordshire and Norfolk, meanwhile, only 52 per cent of 11-year-olds met the standards. London dominates the list of places where the most pupils are meeting targets.

Three quarters (75 per cent) of pupils in Richmond upon Thames met the expected standards in reading, writing and maths. That’s the highest ratio of any local authority in the country.

Hammersmith and Fulham had the next highest ratio at 74%. That’s followed by Hackney at 73 per cent, Newham and Redbridge at 71 per cent each, Kensington and Chelsea, Sutton and Waltham Forest at 71 per cent each, and Tower Hamlets, Camden and Trafford at 70 per cent each.