Education Leeds Notice Board

Early signs suggest young people in Leeds will be celebrating today (19 August) after achieving the city’s best ever A-level results.

Education Leeds is still collecting results from the city’s 33 secondary schools with sixth forms but early indicators - from around 75 per cent of schools - show that more than one in five entries achieved an A grade or the new A* grade.

The figures also suggest that Leeds will see an increase in the overall pass rate with more than 97 per cent of exams sat being passed.

Councillor Jane Dowson, executive board member for learning at Leeds City Council, said:
“The results so far have been promising and the early signs are that the city’s young people have done better than ever before. It is an example of education in the city improving year on year and I hope that everyone who has received their A-level results is pleased - they should be proud of their achievements.

“The schools, parents and carers all deserve praise as well for their support and effort over the last two years which will have played a huge part in the young people’s successes.”

Chris Edwards, chief executive of Education Leeds, said:
“Once again we are seeing some brilliant A-level results across the city. Our young people are leaving school with essential skills and qualifications which will help them achieve their full potential in life.

“The results reflect the hard work, effort and determination of our young people and the high quality of teaching in our schools, and I’d like to congratulate each and every young person on their achievements.”

The full picture of the overall results in Leeds will be published in the autumn term.

A service which helps develop young people’s skills and potential by pairing them with adult mentors has received national recognition for its achievements.

The Leeds Mentoring service was assessed by the Mentoring and Befriending Foundation which described it as a ‘well established’ service which has ‘demonstrated its effectiveness and value to school students across Leeds for at least 10 years’.

The Ofsted style assessment took place between April and June this year and included visits to five of the 40 secondary schools which are involved in the scheme. Royds, Temple Moor, Swallow Hill, Pudsey Grangefield and Brigshaw were all visited by assessors who monitored how effective mentoring was for the young people and the adults involved.

The assessment ‘did not identify any areas of concern’ and found there was ‘clear evidence that the project has maintained the operating standards which were required for earlier APS (Approved Provider Standard) accreditations. The professionalism and commitment of the Leeds Mentoring team was highlighted and the assessors stated the assessment would recommend Leeds Mentoring to prospective funders as it clearly demonstrated good practice and provided a highly-valued service to school communities.Good practices which were highlighted included:

• a comprehensive peer mentoring training process;
• the development of an extensive business network to support adult mentoring; and
• a highly –structured monitoring format to record student progress and the use of indicators to evaluate the effectiveness of mentoring support.

Councillor Jane Dowson, executive board member for learning at Leeds City Council, said:
“This assessment of Leeds Mentoring highlights what an effective and valued service it provides to young people across Leeds. All aspects of the programme were praised from the impact it has on the young people involved to the day-to-day management of the project.

“Mentoring is highly rewarding and helps boost the achievements of the young people involved, as well as their confidence and self-esteem. It’s also a positive experience for the adults who give up their time to help who gain a fantastic sense of achievement for every child who benefits from their help.”    

Chris Edwards, chief executive of Education Leeds, said:“Leeds Mentoring is second to none. It provides a brilliant service to young people by pairing them with somebody who will advise, help and support them to make decisions which will have a positive impact on the rest of their lives.

“The assessment highlights the services many successes and achievements and acknowledges that thousands of young people have benefited from it over the last 10 years. It is a fantastic report and everyone involved should be very proud.”

Development points raised by the assessors include: more frequent training to ensure school co-ordinators who are new in post can access it more quickly; training to include speaking to an existing mentor; more information provided about 11-18 schooling, including exams, jargon etc; schools should be encouraged to provide academic feedback about the young people (GCSE results etc) to mentors.

Six primary schools and one secondary are in line for major improvements if £47m of funding is approved by Leeds City Council.

Education Leeds has proposed to build new schools at Swillington, SS Peter and Paul in Yeadon and Richmond Hill primary schools while extension and refurbishment works are planned for Gildersome, Greenhill and Oulton primaries.

It has also proposed to rebuild and refurbish parts of Corpus Christi Catholic College through the city’s award winning Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme.

A total of £33,125,500 of the costs for the improvements at the six primary schools will come from government grants for primary schools.

As SS Peter and Paul in Yeadon is a voluntary aided school there is a requirement that the school governors contribute 10 per cent of the funding towards the scheme, which will be met by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Leeds.

The £14m for the Corpus Christi Catholic College improvements will come from the £260m allocated to Leeds under the BSF programme in 2005.

Proposals for the six primary schools include:
Swillington Primary School: A new one form entry school with nursery and community space. Built to ‘Passivhaus’ standards, it will be one of the most energy efficient schools in the country.
SS Peter and Paul Catholic Primary School, Yeadon: A new one form entry school with a large, high ceiling central space designed to be the heart of the school. All classrooms will be accessed from this area which includes a library and group rooms and will be available to the community.
Richmond Hill Primary School: Another Passivhaus design which will achieve exceptionally low running costs for heating and cooling. It will be a three form entry school and include a number of innovative features including wide corridors - or ‘learning streets’; larger classrooms to allow for future flexibility; small group rooms for personalised learning; dedicated multi-purpose community space; a multi-purpose hall and; SEN (special education needs) provision for 16 children with autism.
Gildersome Primary School: A full refurbished school, plus an extension, to increase to a two form entry. Two temporary units will be removed and the internal layout of the school will be altered. New technologies will be available throughout the school.
Greenhill Primary School: A fully refurbished and extended two form entry school including a nursery. The school will become one main building with one block demolished and a sports pitch created.
Oulton Primary School: A fully refurbished two form entry school with nursery, behavioural provision and extended services facility. The school will become one building with an existing block being demolished to provide sports pitches. A new teaching wing will be built around a central hub complete with new technologies and a library. Outdoor learning areas will also be provided for all classrooms.

Proposals for Corpus Christi Catholic College include an extension of the main teaching block, including a new sports hall, and the refurbishment of other areas including classrooms and community facilities. There will also be new ICT equipment across the school.
  
Councillor Jane Dowson, executive board member for learning at Leeds City Council, said:“These proposals represent a huge investment in education in Leeds. These seven schools will be transformed into modern, future-proof learning environments which will help to provide a great education to many generations of children.

“In Leeds we are committed to improving our schools and will continue to look for as many ways as possible to invest in our children and young people’s future.” 

Chris Edwards, chief executive of Education Leeds, said:
“We want every child and young person in Leeds to attend the best schools and for local communities to benefit from the fantastic new facilities being provided across the city. These new and refurbished schools will allow even more children and young people to learn in brilliant environments which, together with excellent teaching and support, will help them get the most out of their time at school.”

The proposals will be heard by Leeds City Council’s executive board on Wednesday 25 August.