Local Conservatives Demand Lewisham Council Improve the Borough’s Secondary Schools
Lewisham Conservatives are calling on the Labour-run Lewisham Council to improve the borough’s secondary schools, following Ofsted reports that show Lewisham have the most underachieving secondary schools in the Capital.
In time for the new school term, Lewisham Conservatives are calling on Lewisham Council to re-engage with local parents, teachers, unions and education providers to ensure they have a strategy purely focussed on improving the borough’s secondary schools and ensure every secondary school pupil in Lewisham goes to a good or outstanding school.
The 2016 Ofsted report found that only 54% of secondary school pupils in Lewisham go to a good or outstanding school. This compares to 80% of secondary school pupils in nearby Greenwich going to a good or outstanding school and 99% in neighbouring Southwark. The number of Lewisham pupils in a good or outstanding school is down 11% compared to 2015.
Lewisham is also the worse in London for pupils achieving an A* to C grade at GCSE with only 49.9% of students achieving this crucial milestone compared to a London average of 59.7%.
Lewisham’s secondary schools’ poor performance is in stark contrast to Lewisham primary schools which are raked as some of the best in London, with 100% of pupils in Lewisham primary schools attending a good or outstanding school.
In the most recent GCSE results day, there were some fantastic results for Lewisham schools and pupils, but we will have to wait for the borough wide results to be collated.
Ross Archer, Conservative Candidate for Lewisham Mayor, who could not read until age eight after attending the worse primary school in Britain, said
“Education is a vital service the Council is in charge of and Lewisham Council is letting our kids and future generations down. I know personally the value of a good education and it was a Lewisham school, Elliot Bank, and their fantastic teachers that finally got me reading aged eight.
Lewisham’s secondary schools’ performance is well below what parents expect and is meaning we do not give our kids the best chance in life. With many other nearby and similar London boroughs having fantastic secondary school results and performance - it is clear this is a Lewisham centric problem.
The Council launched an Education Commission which reported in April 2016, but in the latest Ofsted report released in January 2017 it shows Lewisham is still underperforming.
Lewisham Council need to revisit this plan again and consult on a new action plan with the DFE, local parents, parent action groups, local teachers and their unions and proven local education providers.”
Archer’s calls come after all the Labour Lewisham Mayoral Candidates pulled out of a community hustings for all prospective Lewisham Mayoral Candidates organised by ParentEngage Lewisham due to take place on Friday 1 September at Lewisham Town Hall. This hustings was meant to focus solely on education.
Mr Archer has promised that if elected Mayor next May he will make it his ambition that every secondary and primary school pupil in Lewisham will attend a good or outstanding school.