Union disputes that clever pupils are ‘let down’
A MAJOR teaching union has hit out at claims that state schools are failing some of their most able students.
A new Ofsted report has blamed a culture of low expectation, which it says means that tens of thousands of clever children are not being stretched and then miss out on top grades at GCSE.
The education watchdog highlighted the fact that two-thirds of pupils at non-selective secondaries, around 65,000 students, gained a level five in English and maths in national curriculum tests at the end of primary school, one level above the expected standard, but did not achieve an A* or A grade in these subjects at GCSE.
However the National Union of Teachers’ general secretary, Christine Blower, said Ofsted was wrong to use tests at the end of primary school as a predictor for GCSEs.