Southwark schools have been given the highest Ofsted ratings the borough has ever seen this year, it was announced at a cabinet meeting this week.

At the end of the 2018/19 academic year, 93 per cent of schools overall were rated as ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’, which rose to 98 per cent for early years provision.  

The council’s latest schools standards report, presented at cabinet and dubbed by councillors “the best the borough had ever seen”, also included provisional results for schools in the borough this year.

At GCSE, the progress 8 scores for pupils exceeded both the national and London averages at 0.24, while the attainment score was 49.3, above the national average and nearly on a par with London.

At A-level, 26.7 per cent of pupils were awarded A* to A grades in Southwark this year, up 2.1 per cent on the previous year. Over the last four years, these grades have improved by 3.9 per cent compared to a national decline of 0.6 per cent.

Almost 99 per cent of A-level pupils passed their exams this year.

In early years, the gap in performance between children who are eligible for free school meals and those who are not narrowed by two per cent to 8.9 per cent.

74.1 per cent of children achieved a good level of development in early years, a slight drop from last year, but on par with the London average.

“There was a slight dip in outcomes at the end of the foundation stage in 2018 to 2019, despite the breadth and quality of opportunities available to young children.

“This is a sign of the challenges facing schools, who have increasing numbers of children starting their education journey with a range of social, emotional and economic challenges and who do not have age appropriate skills in place,” according to the report.

92 per cent of pupils met the required phonics standard by the end of year 2, which has remained steady for three years.

Pupils in key stage 1 meeting the expected standard of reading was at 79 per cent, above both the London and national averages, while 73 per cent of students met the expected standard for writing, on a par with London.

For maths and science, 78 per cent and 83 per cent respectively were meeting the expected standard, on a par with London.

At key stage 2, 75 per cent of Southwark pupils were meeting the expected reading standard, a two per cent drop from last year, one per cent lower than the London average and two per cent above the national average.

For grammar and punctuation, 81 per cent were meeting the expected standard, a one per cent increase from last year.

For reading, writing and maths combined, 68 per cent were meeting the expected standard, just below the London average.

The performance for writing was in line with London average at 81 per cent, up one from last year.

Councillor Jasmine Ali, cabinet member for children, schools and adult care, said the report was the “best we have seen in this borough” as she presented it to cabinet this week.

“Following significant capital investment in our schools the children in this borough are taught in buildings that are light, bright, where they can flourish.

“We’re narrowing the attainment gap, Southwark is doing brilliantly compared to pupils in boroughs with greater advantage,” Cllr Ali said.