Medlock celebrates — but Oldham scores falling

ON THE UP . . . Medlock Valley pupils celebrate the school’s continuing improvement in Key Stage 2 results. From the left: Dylan Jones,Rebecca Reade, Jessica Langston, Ewan Statters, Courtney Noble, Liam Barker

Primary school performance tables

MEDLOCK Valley Primary is top of the class for improvement in Oldham.

The Fitton Hill primary is celebrating the biggest year-on-year-rise in SATs results since 2006 in league tables published today.

It is one of five schools in the borough to achieve the feat along with Roundthorn; Hodge Clough, Moorside; Buckstones, Shaw; and St John’s, Failsworth. Both Medlock Valley and Roundthorn are among the country’s most improved schools.

Greenhill Primary, Glodwick, is 12th nationally for its value added score which measurers pupils’ progress.

The results of English, maths and science tests sat by 11-year-olds have been published amid a union campaign to scrap them.

Oldham reflected the national trend with a drop in English. A total of 79 per cent of the borough’s youngsters reached the required level for their age (level 4) in the subject compared with 80 per cent in England.

Maths results also fell slightly to 79 per cent, matching the national figure which was unchanged.

Science results in both Oldham and England remained steady at 88 per cent.

Overall Oldham dropped 25 places in the primary school league tables to 93rd.

Medlock Valley, which opened in 2006, also recorded Oldham’s second biggest jump in results since last year behind Westwood. It is part of a federation with Mills Hill and head teacher Janice Garratt-Simpson said: “The children’s success is down to the hard work and dedication of the whole school team who have worked tirelessly with the newly formed federation to secure these successes.”

Overall though, results dropped at nearly 55 per cent of Oldham’s schools.

However, a trio notched up perfect records — with every pupil achieving the required level for their age in all three subjects. They were Our Lady’s, Moorside; St Joseph’s, Shaw; and Friezland.

They are in also the top 200 schools nationally.

And it is a triple celebration for St Joseph’s. It is ranked ninth in England for pupils reaching level 5, that expected of 15 year olds, and in the top 200 for pupils’ progress.

Stoneleigh and Sacred Heart, both Derker, also have some of country’s highest persistent absence rates.

The National Union of Teachers (NUT) and the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) could boycott next year’s SATs.

They have been asking their members if they would support a ballot for the industrial action.

Tony Harrison, joint branch secretary of Oldham NUT said: “SATs are a nonsense. They are a not a real test of where children really are.

“It means that schools teach to the test instead of giving a rounded education. “

Stoneleigh head teacher Tim Renshaw said this monring: “We are committed to providing the best possible education for our pupils. A key part of this is a challenging and strictly enforced attendance policy.

“This means that all registers are closed at 9.15am and any child arriving after this time is put down as an unauthorised absence, also no term time holidays are allowed. This strict adherence to the rules will obviously impact on the bald statistics which do not give the full picture of the high priority that is given to attendance at Stoneleigh.

“All parents have a legal requirement to ensure that their children attend school on time every day and we will use all the powers at our disposal to enforce this.

“This can and does include penalty notices, police panels, fast track to attendance fines, or involving the Council’s school attendance improvement service to prosecute parents so that their children get the education they are entitled to.”

::Table available to view in the E-Chron’s paid-for edition.