School revamp put off to boost exam results

The multi-million-pound revamp of a secondary school in Wolverhampton will be postponed as teachers want more time to improve exam results, it was confirmed today.

Deansfield High's overhaul, as part of the city's £370 million Building Schools for the Future scheme, had originally been due to start in May 2011.

But following requests from governors, it has been agreed the start date be deferred as staff want to focus on improving exam results. The Deans Road school is currently ranked 16th out of the city's 21 secondary schools.

The plan has now been approved by city education boss and Deansfield governor Councillor Gillian Fellows, meaning the makeover of Deansfield will move from phase one of the BSF programme to phase two – due to start in August 2011.

The move will see Deansfield switch places with Coppice Performing Arts College and Wednesfield High, meaning their revamps will be brought forward by months.

Councillor Gillian Fellows has described the proposal as "good common sense".

"The headteacher and staff want to concentrate on raising attainment levels and once they have done that they will be in a better position to spend more time on BSF," she said.

A total of 31 per cent of students at Deansfield get five or more A*-C GCSEs, including English and maths, and the average A-level points score per pupil is 428.6.

Chief children's services officer Tim Westwood said that the authority believed moving Deansfield to phase two was a "very wise and appropriate request".