Tring school only one to not meet government's '˜floor standard for performance'

Dundale Primary School and Nursery was just one of five schools in Herts which fell short of the test.

The standard measures how much progress primary school children have made, plus how many have met the government’s national standard for the three Rs (reading, writing, and arithmetic).

But the headteacher asked parents to consider the wider picture.

Simon King said: “Obviously we were disappointed by the 2017 KS2 Year 6 assessments but we need to keep them in perspective.

“These results represent the performance of one class of children on one particular day.

“Overall, Dundale is a good school and has been rated as such by Ofsted.

“Our results for the end of key stage 1 are above the national and county average and they have been for the past two years.”

He added: “Children at Dundale receive a rounded education across a range of subjects and areas of learning that cannot always be assessed by standardised tests. However, we will continue to work hard to drive up standards through key stage 2 in the areas measured by end primary school assessments.

“The governors and staff are totally committed to ensuring that Dundale continues to be a school which the community can be proud of.”

Nationally the number of primary school pupils meeting the expected standard in their reading, writing and maths SATS exams has risen from 53 per cent last year to 61 per cent this year.

The rise may be partly explained by the fact that schools are now in their second year of teaching the new SATs, which incorporate a tougher primary curriculum introduced in 2014, brought in to “raise expectations”.

The other Herts schools which failed to meet the government standards were Breachwood Green Junior School inHitchin, Kimpton Primary School in Hitchin, Wilbury Junior School in Letchworth Garden City, and Peartree Primary School in Welwyn Garden City.