AN annual health check of Hampshire's schools says more pupils are receiving good or outstanding education in the county.

Both Hampshire and Southampton have moved up the league table in the number of secondary schools which have been rated in the top two categories by government inspectors in the past year.

In Southampton 82 per cent of the city's schools receive the best education, the same number as in Hampshire's local education authority.

Both posted a seven per cent improvement on 2014 figures.

Primaries in the city and county also did well compared to the national picture with Hampshire recording 84 per cent of children going to good or outstanding schools, whilst that figure was 83 per cent in Southampton - a percentage point down on last year.

Councillor Daniel Jeffery, Cabinet Member for Education and Children's Social Care in Southampton said: “I’m delighted to see the city’s secondary schools are continuing to improve, and that 83per cent of primary school pupils now attend a ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ school.

"Our collaborative approach to education is helping Southampton’s young people to achieve their true potential, by encouraging them to ‘aim for the stars’ with aspirational career paths. It also ensures we have the skills available in the local workforce that employers are looking for, bringing jobs and investment to the city”.

Councillor Peter Edgar, Hampshire County Council’s Executive Member for Education, said: “It is encouraging to see that the vast majority of Hampshire schools are continuing to provide children in the county with such a high standard of education.

"I am extremely proud of the hard work that schools consistently put in to performing well for the benefit of their pupils. It is something that I see on a weekly basis when I visit schools across the county and I never cease to be impressed by the dedication of staff and the enthusiasm for learning that the children have, thanks to excellent teachers. I would also like to take the opportunity to recognise the role of the Authority in supporting and challenging schools in their sustained drive for improvement, and for the work our officers undertake to bring about rapid improvement where schools may be doing less well. Headteachers and their staff are to be commended, but we must also remember the vital role that the governors – who give their time freely - play in ensuring their schools do well.”

One school which pushed into the top two Ofsted rankings was the Toynbee school in Eastleigh. As reported by the Daily Echo staff and students celebrated the turnaround last month when they were told they had improved to become a 'good' school.

South East Ofsted government inspector Stephen Long told the Daily Echo that the region was performing well and outperforming other areas of the country.

But he said more needed to be done to improve the achievement of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Closing the attainment gap between those pupils who are entitled to Free School Meals and the rest of their peers is an area where the South East needs to improve, he added.

PANEL:

Hampshire has also been supporting schools on the isle of Wight where performance and results have been rock bottom of league tables in recent years.

The report concludes that education outcomes on the Isle of Wight are showing signs of improvement in the early years and at Year 6 but attainment is not as high as it should be by Year 6.

GCSE results are also not picking up quickly enough, says the report with provisional results suggesting they are the lowest in the region.

Attendance rates have also improved but persistent absence in secondary schools and academies is reducing but remains too high. A key priority now is reducing secondary school fixed-term exclusions. These are extremely high, putting the island well within the worst 10 percent of authorities nationally