Yorkshire coast schools in Scarborough and Whitby see attainment standards drop since pandemic

Data shows just 43 per cent of Key Stage 2 children in Scarborough and Whitby achieved expected levels in reading, writing and maths, compared with 55.3 per cent across North Yorkshire and 58.7 per cent nationally.

Standards in Scarborough and Whitby had dropped some 13 per cent since 2019, the figures showed.

The situation had worsened by Key Stage 4, the GCSE years, where just 39.6 per cent of children achieved a grade 5 or above in English and maths, again well below the North Yorkshire average of 53.6 per cent.

The figures were discussed at a North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) meeting attended by the constituency’s Conservative MP, Robert Goodwill.

According to the report, the figures should be taken “cautiously” as it is the first data set since the pandemic, which saw schools closed and exams cancelled.

Behavioural standards were also examined as part of the report, which found the number of children suspended in Scarborough and Whitby as a percentage of the North Yorkshire total had dropped.

Some 18.9 per cent of suspensions were in the area, compared with 33.6 per cent in 2018.

The most common reason for suspension was marked as persistent or general disruptive behaviour, which made up 42 per cent.

The meeting also discussed dropping levels of pupils across Scarborough and Whitby’s schools.

Earlier this year, campaigners warned that the number of second homes along the coastline was affecting school rolls.

Government figures show that every primary school in Whitby and the outlying villages, with the exception of two, are undersubscribed, with three of those at less than half capacity.

Earlier this month NYCC councillors voted to double council tax on second homes in the county in a bid to make more homes available for local people priced out of the market.