Steps to improve Bristol schools are showing results

Bold steps to transform secondary schooling in Bristol are beginning to have a significant impact on exam results.

Four out of 10 GCSE students in the city's state schools have gained five or more good passes this year, a big rise on last year.

Several schools that were among the lowest performers in the country just a few years ago have seen excellent increases in pass rates.

The "academy revolution", in which five schools became city academies a year ago, has played its part but council-run schools have also shown improvements.

Annie Hudson, who took over at the helm of Bristol City Council's children's services earlier this year following the departure of Heather Tomlinson, instigator of many of the changes, was delighted at the results.

"Reaching 40 per cent of students gaining five or more GCSEs at grade A*-C including English and Maths is a real milestone for Bristol – well done to all the young people whose hard work has helped us get there," she said.

"This is a sign of sustained progress and parents should be confident that Bristol schools are delivering a quality education for their children and helping them reach their full potential.

"We are seeing this progress because of focused and unrelenting attention by schools and the local authority on the things that matter – high-quality teaching, excellent leadership and personalised learning."

Bristol has seen its overall performance on the Government's benchmark measure rise from 30 per cent in 2006 to 40 per cent.

The results issued yesterday are provisional and a number of city schools are asking for some papers to be re-marked, so the figures might change. Three schools, Bedminster Down, Henbury and Bristol Brunel Academy, are hoping to see their final results rise above 30 per cent.

The Government wants all schools to be above that figure, which it describes as a "floor target".

The City Academy in Lawrence Hill, Bristol's first academy, passed that threshold for the first time since it opened in 2003, achieving 34 per cent.

Several Bristol schools, notably Monks Park in the north and the Bridge Learning Campus in the south, also topped 30 per cent this time. But the three new academies – Merchants' Academy in Withywood, Oasis Bristol in Hengrove and Oasis Brightstowe – are still well below.

However, the city's overall figures have been boosted by the inclusion of two former fee-charging schools that became academies a year ago: Colston's Girls' School and Bristol Cathedral Choir School.

Bristol's cabinet member for children, Lib Dem Councillor Clare Campion-Smith, said: "These results are a major step forward for Bristol schools and good news for young people in the city. Congratulations to all students on their hard work, and to their parents, families, teachers and all the school staff who have contributed to this success."