MERSEYSIDE children are improving their academic skills according to Key Stage 2 results but girls are still out performing boys.
Provisional national figures of the core test results for 11-year-olds show the regions average score has risen from 27.8 to 27.9, on a par with national results.
Although Knowsley had the lowest average points score in Merseyside at 27.4, the borough saw the biggest improvement on last year’s results by 0.3 points.
Liverpool and St Helens also saw higher scores a year on, while Wirral’s remained the same at an average of 28.1.
The best performing borough was Sefton, with a 28.5 average score. The points are scored out of 39 and include marks for science, English and maths tests. Children need to score 27 to achieve a Level 4 mark, the expected level for 11-year-olds, and 33 to gain a Level 5.
In Merseyside girls outperformed boys in English and science but boys proved more successful in the maths test, with 2% more achieving Level 4 or above.
The biggest difference between genders was in marks for the writing section of the English test. 59% of boys achieved level four or above, girls 73%.
Liverpool’s average stood at 27.5 points. The city council’s executive member for children’s services, Cllr Paul Clein, said: “We continue to make steady improvement at Key Stage 2 level, and I’m pleased with the hard work of both staff and pupils over the past year.
“We will continue to work intensively with schools to share the most successful approaches to teaching and learning, with the long term aim of reaching, and hopefully surpassing, the national average”.
Achieving a Level 4 at age 11 rather than a Level 3 means that children have the right numeracy and literacy skills crucial for their progress at secondary school.
Figures show that of the pupils who reached Level 4 or above in English or Maths at Key Stage 2 in 2001, nearly 70% went on to get five good A* to C grades at GCSE last summer, compared with only 11% of those who didn’t reach Level 4.
Schools Minister Andrew Adonis said: “Today’s primary school children have achieved the best set of Key Stage 2 results we have ever seen, and I congratulate all pupils and teachers for their hard work and achievements.
“But there is still more to do. That is why from this September we are introducing further measures to accelerate the pace of learning.
“There will be a renewed emphasis on phonics in early reading teaching and in maths, children will focus more on mental arithmetic including learning times tables one year earlier.”
