2. Continue to improve education and skills in Doncaster – they are crucial to a successful economy. Better education will also contribute to a decline in anti-social behaviour and other undesirable activities among young people. Encourage the growth of academies.
Prince Andrew meets high achieving young people at the Mansion House
Educational attainment in Doncaster continues to improve year on year. In 2011 we celebrated a 2% increase on the numbers of Doncaster students who achieved five or more grades A*-C including English and Mathematics in their GCSEs. We continue to outperform the national pass rate at A-Level with 99.3% achieving one or more passes at grades A-E compared with a national figure of 97.8%.
These results speak for themselves, but we cannot be complacent. Our young people deserve the best education possible and I want us to continue to raise the aspirations of Doncaster, so that young people and adults are keen to improve themselves.
The Council, together with Frenchgate Shopping Centre, South Yorkshire Police, and the Transport Interchange has launched a new truancy watch scheme.
We are making substantial improvements in truancy levels. Overall absence from school has reduced, persistent absence has reduced, and the number of schools with 95% or higher attendance has doubled in the last year. We do our best to work with families but take a hard line on those who won’t work with us.
I am a keen supporter of the Academy system and believe that it can bring about substantial improvements to otherwise failing schools. In Doncaster we now have a number of Academies in place, and many more that have started the process to become academies in the near future. It remains my aspiration that as many schools as possible in Doncaster should strive towards Academy status, taking responsibility for their own futures, as opposed to being led by the council.
This does not only apply to secondary schools. In September 2011 I signalled my approval for our first primary school to move towards academy status, as I believe this is the quickest way to bring about sustained improvements.
