Our praise is deserved (From Gazette Series)

Our praise is deserved

SIR - I would like to make some comments regarding the performance tables that were printed in a Bristol evening paper last week.

The paper was congratulating the schools that had obtained top aggregate scores - to which, of course, I have no objection. Congratulations to them, I feel, was in order.

There are 86 primary schools in South Gloucestershire and if we work on aggregate of test percentages for level four-plus then the position of Highcroft Junior School, Frampton Cotterell, is tenth out of those 86.

However, this year for the first time the government has added Value Added scores to the league tables based upon the progress the children have made from key stage one to key stage two. Highcroft's score here was 101.8 - the highest score in South Gloucestershire.

Schools with a Value Added measure of 102 or above will be ranked in the top five percent of schools nationally in terms of progress. Highcroft was 0.2 percent away from the top five percent of schools.

For schools with more than 30 pupils covered by the Value Added measure, scores of 99.1 to 100.9 equal broadly average performance according to the DfES.

I feel both as a parent and as a parent governor of Highcroft Junior School that this school has also done extremely well with its 2003 cohort and deserves a special mention.

Well done to the children and a huge thank you to all the staff who had an input with those children.

Debbie Curtis, Frampton Cotterell.