§ Lord Lairdasked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by Baroness Ashton of Upholland on 18 March (WA 22) concerning GCSE results in Hull, why grades A(star), A, B and C passes in 2001–02 are very much lower than the average in England; and what steps they are taking to improve the rate. [HL2234]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Baroness Ashton of Upholland)Only 28.9 per cent of pupils in Hull's maintained schools gained as many as five GCSE grades between A* and C in 2002 and the Government recognise that this is disappointing. The position is due to a number of factors, including transfer of pupils from the city's primary schools to schools outside the city boundary, and disappointing pupil progress over the two years leading up to GCSE. The proportion of pupils securing five good GCSE grades has increased, albeit slowly, from a very low level of 23.4 per cent in 1999.
The recent Ofsted report on the city council as a local education authority states that, since the previous inspection in 1999, there had been "some loss of impetus and focus on further improvement" in Hull, following the resignation of the director of education in 2001. In general, progress in the past three years had been slow. However, progress is reported to be "much improved" in the past year, although a step-change in performance is required if more children are to reap the full benefit of a secondary education. Since the Ofsted report, the director of education appointed in late 2001 has resigned. His successor is to take up her duties in May.
Since 2002, the Government have made available a package of support to raise attainment in Hull and to sustain the city's secondary schools in achieving the step-change they need. This support aims to secure significant improvement by reinforcing work already under way in the city and by focusing on the specific needs of Hull. A key theme of that support is the facilitation of partnership working, among schools and between the schools and the local authority. For three years from 2003–04, this support will be sustained by new funding that will have a big impact in Hull; an additional annual grant to the city council of 87WA £110,000 aimed at strengthening the council's support for raised pupil achievement, and the substantial investment in the leadership incentive grant—£5.625 million over the next three financial years.