WHEN The TES highlighted Hackney’s 1999 key stage 2 achievement (September 10), it focused on “failure”, though the local education authority’s results have improved.
The 1999 figures reflect real success in many of our schools. Nearly six out of 10 primaries (58 per cent) achieved at least one result above last year’s national average, 55 per cent exceeded their English targets for this year.
Three issues present us with a significant challenge: we have not reduced the massive “gender gap” in English results; pupils who are not yet fluent in English are struggling to achieve at the Department for Education and Employment’s “expected” level; and schools have yet to find ways of raising the achievement levels of “mobile” pupils quickly enough to impact on their key stage results.
We will be addressing these issues to meet our 2002 targets.
Elizabeth Reid, Director of education, London borough of Hackney
