Bristol pupils still struggling to make the grade

Thousands of children are still leaving Bristol primary schools unable to read, write or add up properly.

Figures published today show just how far the city has to go to raise pupils' results even to the England average.

Several city schools come in the bottom 200 in the country in the Department for Children, Schools and Families league, with barely a third of 11-year-olds reaching the expected standard.

Many of the poor performers are in inner-city areas, where there are a high number of pupils for whom English is not their first language, or in areas of deprivation.

The full tables, to be published in tomorrow's Bristol Post, show the results of Sats tests taken by Year 6 pupils last May in English, maths and science.

The figures usually come out in December but were delayed this year because of problems with the external marking of papers.

Bristol comes out third from bottom in a table of local authorities ranked by average aggregate scores, ahead only of Hackney and Haringey.

B&NES, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire are towards the top of the table.

Seven schools in the greater Bristol area achieved the maximum score of 300, meaning that all pupils gained level 4 or above in English, maths and science.

They are Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Primary in Lawrence Weston and Waycroft Primary in Stockwood, both Bristol; Highcroft Junior, Frampton Cotterell, Redfield Edge Primary and St Mary's CofE Primary in Thornbury; Holy Trinity VA Primary, all South Gloucestershire; and Winford Primary in North Somerset.

Three Bristol schools were among the most improved in the country: Bank Leaze Primary in Lawrence Weston, Ilminster Avenue Primary in Knowle West and Ashton Gate Primary. Fair Furlong Primary in Withywood was one of the best in the contextual value-added table, which takes into account social factors.