THE future of education in Bolton looks bright.

Figures published today show the borough’s primary school pupils are outperforming their peers nationally.

The league tables also highlight the fantastic achievement of individual schools in this year’s primary school performance tables.

Today’s statistics show how year six children in every school performed in English and maths in their key stage two SATs examinations.

In English, 81 per cent of children in Bolton achieved the benchmark level four or above, in line with last year.

The country’s average was 80 per cent.

But while results in maths stalled nationally, there was a two per cent improvement in the numbers of children making the grade in Bolton, with 83 per cent achieving the benchmark level.

The numbers of children who passed both exams stood at 76 per cent, while the national average was 73 per cent.

Cllr Ebrahim Adia, executive member for children’s services, said: “Bolton’s pupils have done really well in the latest key stage two SATs results.

“More young people in Bolton are achieving level four in both maths and English than the national average, which should make all the pupils, teachers, schools staff and parents involved feel proud. It is encouraging to see Bolton’s pupils, whose first language is not English, performing at a significantly higher level than the average across the North West and the country. I would like to congratulate everyone who helped make these results so positive.

“Hopefully we will be able to look forward to similar results next year.” Two schools posted perfect results, with every single child passing their maths and English while other schools celebrated huge leaps in their performance.

Prestolee Primary School in Stoneclough and Scared Heart RC were top of the tables with every child achieving a level four or above in English and maths.

Bottom of the table was Queensbridge in Farnworth, which is classed as an ‘inclusive’ and works with children with profound and multiple special educational needs.

Chris Fielding, headteacher at Queensbridge, said: “There have been individual achievements and I am very proud of the staff who show commitment to the pupils and the support of the local authority.”

A Bolton Council spokesman said: “Everyone who has contributed to these results should be very proud of themselves .

“The success of our pupils hinges on good quality teaching, strong leadership in schools, support from the local authority and, most of all, the hard work of the borough’s young people.”

TOP of this year’s primary school league tables are Sacred Heart RC Primary School in Westhoughton and Prestolee Primary School in Stoneclough Both schools posted a perfect 100 per cent pass rate in English and maths at level four. Head of Sacred Heart RC Primary School, Martin Johnson, said: “It is a nice way to end the term. “I am proud of the children who all did their best and worked very hard for the results, not only just the level four but also the level five.” In the more challenging level five, 57 per cent of children made the grade in English, while in maths that figure stood at 88 per cent. A total of 54 per cent of children achieved level five in both maths and English. Mr Johnson praised the staff for working hard, which he said was reflected in the school’s value added scores. These measure the progress children make from their different starting points. Michael Tonge, head of Prestolee Primary School, said: “We are incredibly proud of our school nowwe find ourselves consistently one of the highest attaining schools in Bolton. “All teachers do an incredibly challenging job and we should be justly proud of all the schools in Bolton.” Another school singled out for getting the best out of its children was St Peter and St Paul’s Primary on Pilkington Street, which scored the highest contextual valued added measure, as well as top results, with 96 per cent of pupils gaining a level four or above in English and 93 per cent in maths. And 93 per cent of children passed both core subjects, which was much higher than the national average

Please note Red Lane School's ranking is 74 not 94 as displayed in this pdf link. You can view the league tables by clicking this link -> leaguetables.pdf