Sats test scores reveal region's failings

Latest figures show that 22,900 pupils in Yorkshire were not tested this summer as more than a third of the region's primary schools took part in industrial action against the Sats.

Almost 650 primary schools in Yorkshire refused to administer tests for 11-year-olds during the boycott by the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and National Association of Head Teachers.

The action has left the Government unable to produce results for 20 education authorities across the country, including Bradford, Calderdale, North Lincolnshire and Wakefield.

The Department for Education decided the schools which did sit tests in each of these areas were not "representative" of their authority and could not be used to produce overall results.

The results that have been published showed Yorkshire had the lowest level of pupils reaching the expected standard, known as level four, in both reading and English.

Figures published yesterday show 78 per cent of Yorkshire pupils made the grade in English compared with 81 per cent nationally. About 82 per cent achieved level four in reading compared with 84 per cent of pupils across the country.

The region also had the fewest 11-year-olds reaching the standard in writing and maths tests. Almost a third of 11-year-old pupils and almost 40 per cent of boys in Yorkshire failed to achieve the basics in writing. The East Riding, Hull and Rotherham had the worst scores for boys' writing in the region with fewer than 60 per cent reaching level four.

The impact of the boycott added to the pressure on Ministers to scrap Sats – with NUT general secretary Christine Blower dismissing the latest figures as "an irrelevance".

The Government also published results from teacher assessments of all 11-year-olds.

Yorkshire schools did slightly better using these results which showed 80 per cent of pupils making the grade at English – just one per cent below the national average.