Schools minister says academies' programme would "take time to show results"

Schools Minister Vernon Coaker is confident that Bristol’s secondary education transformation will bring further hoped-for improvements in exam results.

On a visit to the city’s newest academy, Bristol Metropolitan, yesterday (wed) Mr Coaker said the “structural solutions” to schooling for children aged 11 to 16 were paying off.

Academies – Bristol and South Gloucestershire now have 11 – trust schools and federations were all playing their part, he said.

Mr Coaker announced earlier this week that the number of schools in England where fewer than 30 per cent of students had achieved five good GCSEs, including English and maths, had fallen from 440 in 2008 to 270 this year.

Based on the provisional results from this summer’s exams, six of those 270 so-called National Challenge schools are in Bristol, although the number is down from 12 schools below the benchmark a year earlier.

The Government wants to see all schools in England rise above the 30 per cent “floor target” by 2011.

Asked how academies could be said to be the answer when three of Bristol secondaries that converted last year – in Hengrove, Withywood and Shirehampton – achieved lower results than their predecessor local authority schools, Mr Coaker said the programme would take time to show results.

“It is not a magic-wand solution, it is a hard-work solution. These academies are working in some of the most challenging circumstances, where there has been educational under-achievement for a long time.

“I know that these academies will deliver and provide the educational standards that are needed,” he said.

Strong leadership was a crucial factor and that was evident at Bristol Met, he said, thanks to its partnership through the Cabot Learning Federation with John Cabot and Bristol Brunel academies.

“It is good to see that, overall, in Bristol educational attainment is up,” said Mr Coaker. “I am really pleased to be here at Bristol Met and to see that they are determined to achieve high standards.

“Parents can be sure that the young people who come here will be safe and their educational needs will be met. There is no need for families to vote with their feet and go elsewhere.”

The Minister, a former teacher, was greeted by a samba band as he arrived at the school in Fishponds and said he was delighted to see that young people were being encouraged to succeed at music, dance, drama and sport as well as academic subjects.

He also praised the provision for non-English speakers.

Bristol Met moved into new buildings and raised its results above the floor target last year but still received funding and support from the National Challenge programme as a local authority school.

Seven schools in the city were given £550,000 to help raise results under the scheme. Ashton Park, Brislington Enterprise College, the Bridge Learning Campus and Monks Park (now Orchard School) all saw sharp rises in GCSE passes.

Bristol City Council spokeswoman Julia Walton said: “Out of the seven National Challenge schools in Bristol we now have five at or above the 30 per cent benchmark. All of these schools have made very good progress under the programme. 

“Ashton Park, in particular, has made very rapid progress with 43 per cent of students with A*-C including English and maths according to the provisional results.  We will continue to support and challenge schools to continue the upward trend.”