Leighton school is top of the class in reading, writing and maths

A Leighton Buzzard primary school has the highest reading, writing and maths scores in the borough for 2022-23.

Pupils scoring at least a scaled score of 100 out of 120 will have met the expected standard in the test.

In Central Bedfordshire, Leighton Middle School lead the way with 76% of eligible students achieving the expected standard in reading, writing and maths in key stage two in the 2022-23 school year.

It was followed by: Derwent Primary School, in Henlow where 75% of pupils met the standard, Thornhill Primary School in Houghton Regis, where 73% of pupils met the standard, Lark Rise Academy, in Dunstable where 73% of pupils met the standard and Priory Academy, also in Dunstable, where 69% of pupils met the standard.

Claire Vallance, Headteacher at Leighton Middle School, said: “Our results are consistently strong and we were proud to take the 'top spot' in Central Bedfordshire. We are significantly above national (60%) and significantly above Central Bedfordshire (51%) and are proud how being a middle school has allowed us to achieve great results combined with ensuring the educational offer of subjects other than English and Maths also remain high profile. Pupils in a middle school have the benefit of weekly timetabled subject time in all subjects as well as the luxury of specialist staff and specialist rooms. Pupil development is not just about academics and we are proud that our high academic achievement combined with extensive opportunities for personal growth supports our pupils to develop into resourceful, resilient, kind and caring members of the community who are well equipped for their educational journey.”

The National Association of Head Teachers said government investment is needed to help pupils recover from the pandemic, as figures show the proportion of students meeting the expected mark is well below pre-pandemic levels.

However, school leaders' union the NAHT said ranking schools is simplistic and does not consider the context of the particular cohort or the community the school serves.

General secretary Paul Whiteman added: "No piece of data can provide an accurate picture of the effectiveness of schools, whose work goes far beyond that number, and league tables and ranking of schools should be scrapped. They can have damaging consequences and can actually be a barrier to improvement."

The Government aims for 90% of key stage two children to meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Overall in England, 60% of students met the standard in 2022-23 – up from 59% the year before but below 65% in 2018-19, before the pandemic.

While Mr Whiteman said key stage two tests can identify "broad concerns", he added government investment is ultimately needed to see improvements.

He said: "Ministers failed to provide anything like the funding recommended by the Government's education recovery tsar to help pupils recover from the pandemic."

Sir Kevan Collins, former education recovery tsar, proposed a £15 billion long-term catch-up programme for children whose learning has been disrupted by the pandemic.

A Department of Education spokesperson said: “We know the pandemic had a significant impact on education globally which is why we have made £5 billion available since 2020 for education recovery initiatives, including just under five million tutoring course starts to date supporting pupils in all corners of the country."