Dudley primaries outshine schools across Black Country and Staffordshire
More youngsters in Dudley are attending good or outstanding primary schools this year, but levels across the rest of the Black Country remain among the worst in the country, new figures have revealed.
Ofsted's annual report ranks Dudley in 59th place in the country out of 150 local authorities, with 87 per cent of children going to good or outstanding schools.
The figure marks a rise of one per cent from 2013/14 and represents a three per cent increase in the number of better performing schools in the borough.
It also means Dudley is outperforming the other Black Country areas and Staffordshire in terms of the quality of its primary education.
Wolverhampton
Wolverhampton is 135th out of 150 local authorities, with 74 per cen tof pupils going to primaries that meet the Government benchmark.
The report shows that although there are now seven per cent more better rated schools in the city than in 2013/14, Wolverhampton is still lagging behind.
Walsall
Walsall has slumped to 143rd out of 150, with 71 per cent of students going to benchmark-level schools.
There are now three per cent more better rated schools in the borough than there were in 2014. But the slight improvement still leaves Walsall lagging 14 per cent below the national average.
The borough's secondary schools came 116th in the country.
Councillor Chris Towe, Walsall Council's education chief, said: "Walsall children deserve the very best. We are not complacent. In September we strengthened our school improvement team with the appointment of two senior education specialists."
Sandwell
Sandwell is 130th out of 150, with 57 per cent of children going to schools with the desired standard - more than 16 per cent below the national average.
The figure represents a four per cent rise on last year but still places Sandwell behind other Black Country areas in terms of the quality of its secondary schools.
The number of youngsters attending good or outstanding primary schools in Sandwell rose by one per cent to 83 per cent, although the borough dropped 24 places in the national table to 98th.
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is 112th out of 150, with 80 per cent of students going to schools that meet the benchmark.
The number of children attending good or outstanding secondary schools in Staffordshire has also dropped.
in 2014/15 a total of 70 per cent of pupils across the county attended schools rated in the top two tiers by the watchdog, a fall of two per cent.
