Barnsley students achieving a standard pass in English and Maths GCSE above national average

A new report, to be presented to Barnsley Council’s cabinet on December 15, outlines the educational performance across Barnsley during the last academic year.

The report states that outcomes at Key Stage 4 have seen small decreases across all headline measures when compared to 2020.

However, outcomes for the percentage of students achieving a standard pass in English and Maths remains above the national figure in Barnsley.

Previously, the measure of how year ten and eleven pupils were performing was the percentage of students achieving five A*-C grades, including English and Mathematics

However, performance is now measured on students’ attainment across a range of eight qualifications – called an attainment 8 score.

For GCSE pupils, the average attainment eight score for Barnsley decreased from 48.5 to 47.2.

MORE EDUCATION: Barnsley education bosses to tackle £35m SEND budget black hole

This is below the national average of 48.9 which saw an increase from 48 in 2020.

There was also a ‘small decline’ in the number of pupils achieving a strong pass in English and Maths – 47 per cent of students achieved a strong pass at grade 9-5 in comparison to 50 per cent in 2020.

68 per cent of students achieved a standard pass at grade 9-4 in English Language/Literature and Mathematics, above the national average of 67 per cent.

More youngsters are being electively home schooled, with the number increasing by 34 per cent since 2019/20.

MORE EDUCATION: Barnsley parents are having to 'battle' to get support for youngsters with special educational needs and disabilities

The report estimates that almost half of these pupils began home-schooling during the 2020/21 academic year, ‘suggesting that the pandemic has had a significant impact on the number of children and young people that are currently electively home educated’.

Councillor Trevor Cave, cabinet spokesperson for children’s services, said: “Our borough is a place that fosters and grows ambition, enabling everyone to be the best they can be.

“We’re extremely proud of all our young people in Barnsley and know that they have worked hard during a very challenging year. I hope they are excited and ambitious for the next stage in their education or career.

“We’ll continue working with schools and academies to drive education improvements. I’d like to thank all the young people and school staff involved for raising the standards in Barnsley, as well as parents and carers for supporting them.”