We hope this news will change the assessment that all the children in poor areas are low attainers

We hope this news will change the assessment that all the children in poor areas are low attainers.”In this year’s tests, 83 per cent of pupils reached the required standard in maths – compared to a national average of 73 per cent. In English, the figure was lower (67 per cent compared to 75 per cent nationally). The results are considered to be well above the average for schools in similar circumstances to Delaval.By Richard Garner. The last all-women college in Oxford university kept its unique status yesterday despite a majority of fellows voting in favour of admitting men. For years we have known we have had a very good track record on adding value to pupils’ performance; now we can prove it. Our children travel a huge distance once they arrive at school.”We serve one of the most disadvantaged areas in the country. Our children are the unwitting victims of that, but haven’t they done well?”Ms Marsden added: “I hope that at last the league tables will start to recognise the hard work that is put in by primary schools like ours – and perhaps we can overcome the negative image that is often portrayed of them.”We are able to give our pupils a lot of individual help Last year’s group [which achieved these results] had .. a boy who thought it was cool to be clever.

Its score is 105.5, a 5.5 per cent per pupil improvement on what could have been expected.Sandra Marsden, the school’s head for the past 12 years, said: “It’s fantastic news. Delaval has improved the performance of its pupils more than any other primary school in the country. For the first time, the tables look at how well pupils do in tests at 7, predict what they should be able to achieve at 11 – and then give individual schools a ranking to show how well they have met expectations. In English, 75 per cent of 11-year-olds reached the required standard – the same number as last year In maths, the figure was 73 per cent.

The number of schools achieving 100 per cent in all three subjects tested – English, maths and science – fell this year from 178 to 142.FIRST CLASS: DELAVAL COMMUNITY PRIMARY SCHOOLFor much of the time, there’s not too much to celebrate in the Scotswood area of Newcastle.Homes are being pulled down for redevelopment, crime is rife and four-fifths of pupils at the local primary are entitled to free school meals.Yet today there is cause for joy at the 170-pupil Delaval Community Primary School, because it tops the Government’s revamped primary school league tables for having the best teaching standards in the country.When it comes to improving the performance of its pupils throughout their school life, it is the best. “A school can receive a glowing inspection report and yet be at the bottom of the tables and suffer as a result,” he said.”The tables do not tell anyone about the quality of education provided in a school and the ‘added value’ element does not change that situation.”Nationally, the league tables show there has been little improvement in literacy and numeracy in primary schools over the past four years. “We always knew we would do badly in the tables this year because of the poor maths result,” he said.Doug McAvoy, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, claimed the new value-added measure did not improve the standing of the league tables. Delaval scores 105.5 – which means its pupils do 5.5 per cent better on average than expected in tests for 11-year-olds.There is little difference between state and independent school teachers in improving their pupils’ performance. But Bill Ball, its new headteacher, said improvements at the school could take five years to bear fruit. Bottom of the league table was Manton primary school in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, where only 16 per cent of pupils reached the required standard in the maths test at 11.The school was given a good report by Ofsted, the education standards watchdog, earlier this year with inspectors saying it was “effective” and “improving”.

Academics said some inner-city schools still struggled to cope with their pupils’ poor home environment – and failed to improve their performance as a result. Independent schools get a ranking of 100 while state schools on average get 99.9.The tables show a cluster of inner-city schools at the bottom – demonstrating a wide gulf in performance in these areas. shows the rate of progress that children make between seven and 11 in different schools.”The new tables look at how well pupils do in tests for seven-year-olds, predict what they should achieve at 11 and rank individual schools according to whether pupils have matched up to expectations. The figuresattempt to show how teaching standards can affect pupils’ performance.David Miliband, the minister for School Standards, said: “We have always said that we will listen to the views of heads, teachers and parents about how the performance tables can provide a more comprehensive picture of school performance This value-added information … They may not be able to next year.r.garner independent.co.uk. Schools in some of the most deprived inner-city areas come out top in new league tables, published today, which show how much each has improved its pupils’ performance. If, as expected, members of the National Union of Teachers vote for a boycott of the tests for seven- and 11-year-olds and there is no successful legal challenge to their industrial action, it is likely the tests will be cancelled in a majority of schools.Therefore, the inner-city schools that have won their moment of fame as a result of the hard work they have put into improving their pupils’ education will have to bask in their glory now.