Press release

Provisional results of this year’s Key Stage 2 tests for 11 year-olds show a four per cent increase on last year in the number of pupils in the County achieving the expected level 4 or above in English, compared to a national increase of two per cent, and a two per cent increase in Maths, compared to a national increase of 1 per cent.

Councillor Keith Glazier, Lead Cabinet Member for Education at the County Council, said: "Helping teachers to raise standards of learning and achievement in the classroom is a Council priority, and we are delighted that these excellent results have propelled East Sussex into the top 20 LEAs for improvement. We congratulate all our schools – teaching staff, governors and pupils – on their continued improvement.”

The provisional results for the 2004 tests bring the average number of pupils in East Sussex schools achieving the expected level 4, to:

• 78% in English, compared to 74% in 2003
• 74% in Maths, compared to 72% in 2003

Further good news is that the number of pupils achieving the higher level 5 in Maths is up, from 27 per cent in 2003 to more than 30 per cent this year.

Key Stage 2 tests are taken by 10 – 11 year-old pupils and some achieved significant results, including:

• 15 schools with at least 95 per cent of pupils achieving level 4 and above in English, Maths and Science
• 14 primary schools improving their scores by at least 15 per cent. These were:
  • Marshlands Primary School, Hailsham
  • Park Mead Primary School, Upper Dicker
  • Hollington Primary School, St Leonard’s
  • Five Ashes CE Primary School, Mayfield
  • Northiam CE Primary School
  • Nutley CE Primary School
  • Rodmell CE Primary School
  • Buxted CE Primary School
  • Firle CE Primary School
  • Southdown Junior School, Newhaven
  • Chiddingly Primary School
  • Bonners CE Primary School, Maresfield
  • St Thomas's CE Primary School, Winchelsea and
  • Elphinstone Community School, Hastings.

The results for Key Stage 1 tests – which are taken by six and seven year-olds – show performance at the expected level 2+ in Reading and in Writing is static at 83 and 81 per cent respectively, but Maths has gone up by one per cent to a County average of 90 per cent. The number of pupils achieving the higher levels 2B and 3 in Maths has increased by three per cent.

Denise Stokoe, Director of Education and Libraries, is very pleased with the results. She said: "The results are a credit to our schools, and a ringing endorsement for the County Council and our school improvement service’s support to teachers in continuing to raise standards in our schools.”

Provisional results for Key Stage 3 tests – which are taken by 13 – 14 year-olds – are not complete but currently show East Sussex ahead of the national trend with the number of pupils achieving level 5 and above in the Maths test increasing by four per cent, compared to two per cent nationally.

In Science, results followed the national trend with a drop of two per cent. The results for English have yet to be released by the Department for Education and Skills.

Notes to editors

There are 194 schools in East Sussex: 156 primary, 27 secondary and 11 special schools.

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