Report finds that more schools get top Ofsted marks

Portsmouth has seen an improvement in both the number of primary and secondary schools rated either good or outstanding compared to last year.

But the city is still below the national average for the primary school figures.

Ofsted’s annual report, published today, showed 87 per cent of Portsmouth primary schools were rated good or outstanding (an increase of one per cent compared with last year) by August this year compared with 90 per cent for the country and 91 per cent for the region. Hampshire performed better with 92 per cent of schools given the top two ratings.

But the city’s secondary schools outperformed both the national (79 per cent) and regional average (83 per cent) with 88 per cent rated good or outstanding – an increase of 30 per cent compared to last year.

And it performed better than Hampshire schools, which were at 81 per cent.

As previously reported in The News, a number of secondary schools in Portsmouth have seen their rating improved.

St Edmund’s Catholic School was rated outstanding in July last year and The Portsmouth Academy has gone from being rated inadequate, when it was City of Portsmouth Girls’ School, to good earlier this year.

Alison Jeffery, director of children, families and education at Portsmouth City Council said: ‘It’s encouraging to see improvements are having an impact and the overall quality of schools is on the rise thanks to the continued hard work and the dedication of teachers and school leaders.

‘All the partners in our new Portsmouth Education Partnership, including the city council, remain committed to continued improvement and raising standards across the board in all the city’s schools. We are also 100 per cent committed to ensuring – as Ofsted has called for – that every single child has the best possible opportunity to succeed.’

Ofsted’s annual report looked at how many students were reaching the expected Key Stage 2 standards in reading, writing and maths.

Portsmouth was below the national average for all three. Fifty-six per cent of pupils were reaching the expected standards compared to the England average of 61 per cent. Hampshire was above the national average and was fourth-highest in the south east at 65 per cent.