HC Deb 17 December 1996 vol 287 cc486-7W
Dr. Spink

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment when assessment she has made of the relative performance of grant-maintained and local authority schools. [9786]

Mr. Forth

The 1996 school performance tables show that 50 per cent. of pupils in grant-maintained schools achieved five or more good GCSE passes, compared with 41 per cent. of pupils in LEA schools. There was almost no difference in the performance of pupils in selective schools in the two sectors, but 46 per cent. of pupils in GM comprehensive schools achieved five or more good GCSE passes compared with 40 per cent. in LEA schools. Analysis of the GCSE performance tables from 1992 to 1996 shows that GM schools have made rather more progress than comparable LEA schools in raising standards year on year. In the 1996 national curriculum assessments for 7, 11 and 14-year-olds, a higher proportion of pupils in GM schools reached or exceeded the expected levels of performance at each key stage. Details are set out in the following tables:

Table 1: Percentage of 15-year-old pupils achieving graded GCSE results in 1996
Grades (per cent.) Grades (per cent.) Grades (per cent.)
1A: all schools
GCSE passes 5+ A*-C 5+ A*-G 1+ A-G
LEA schools 40.6 per cent. 87.1 per cent. 93.4 per cent.
GM schools 50.1 per cent. 91.1 per cent. 95.3 per cent.
1B: comprehensive schools only
GCSE passes 5+ A*-C 5+ A*-G 1+ A-G
LEA comprehensives 40.0 per cent. 87.0 per cent. 93.3 per cent.
GM comprehensives 46.4 per cent. 91.1 per cent. 95.6 per cent.
Table 2: time series comparison of LEA maintained schools with schools which became grant-maintained on or before 1 September 1992
Percentage of pupils achieving 5+ A-C GCSEs in 1992 Percentage of pupils achieving 5+ A*-C GCSEs in 1996 Percentage point increase 1996 over 1992
LEA Selective
maintained Non-selective 89.2 93.4 4.2
schools 32.2 38.3 6.1
GM schools Selective 89.3 94.6 5.3
Non-selective 37.5 45.6 8.1
Table 3: Percentage of seven-year-old pupils achieving national curriculum level 2 and above
Key stage 1 English Mathematics Science
1TA 1Test TA Test TA Test
LEA schools 79 — 82 82 84 —
Reading 78 78
Writing 76 80

Table 3: Percentage of seven-year-old pupils achieving national curriculum level 2 and above
Key stage 1 English Mathematics Science
1TA 1Test TA Test TA Test
Speaking and listening 82
GM schools 85 — 86 87 88 —
Reading 84 84
Writing 82 85
Speaking and listening 85 —
Note:
1TA = teacher assessment, Test = national test.
Table 4: Percentage of 11-year-old pupils achieving national curriculum level 4 and above
English Mathematics Science
Key stage 2 TA Test TA Test TA Test
LEA schools 60 57 60 54 65 62
GM schools 64 63 65 60 69 68
Table 5: Percentage of 14-year-old pupils achieving national curriculum level 5 and above
English Mathematics Science
Key stage 3 TA Test TA Test TA Test
LEA schools 60 56 61 56 59 55
GM schools 68 65 69 65 68 65