DANESFIELD is now one of the highest performing middle schools in Somerset and has outperformed most primary schools nationally in terms of attainment, according to SATs results recently published.

The SATs (Standard Assessment Tests) evaluate both children’s educational progress from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 2, and their attainment, at the end of years two and six.

Progress results for Danesfield as well as Minehead Middle Schools showed that in maths and reading both schools are among the highest in the county and above the national average for primary schools, and for Danesfield this applied to writing too.

The tests also measure attainment and in this aspect children at Danesfield School outperformed children in primary schools nationally, and is one of the highest performing middle schools in the county.

“It’s a fantastic turnaround at Danesfield – the teachers have worked incredibly hard and the children too,” said Paul Rushforth, chief executive officer of the West Somerset Academies Trust which Danesfield formally joined this year.

“We are delighted with the results, which show Danesfield has bounced back with a vengeance and under headteacher Adam Evans’ leadership is making great progress.”

He said Danesfield previously suffered a serious decline in standards over a period of years. Its last Ofsted grading in February was ‘requires improvement’ and Mr Rushforth and the local authority had thought at the time it would be in the lowest ‘inadequate’ category, based on SATs results from the previous three years.

“This is a huge turnaround from last year and reflects the hard work of the teachers and support that working together within the West Somerset Academies Trust can bring,” said Mr Rushforth.

He said across the country, areas of high deprivation tend to have less progress for children from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 2, with children in middle schools not usually making as much progress as those in primary schools.

However, in West Somerset, both Danesfield and Minehead middle schools had outperformed children in primary schools across the country for progress, with Danesfield also doing “incredibly well” in attainment.

“In West Somerset, it shows children do better in middle school than in primary school, because of the close relationship between the first and middle schools,” Mr Rushforth said.

“By the time they leave, they are well above average and we know from national Cognitive Ability Tests [CATs] in years seven and eight that they continue to make strong progress.”

As well as the two middle schools, the West Somerset Academies Trust also includes Minehead First, Old Cleeve, St Michael’s and St Peter’s schools, and Mr Rushforth said SATs scores had also gone up at three of the four schools, when children were tested at the end of year two.

“We are very pleased with the continued progress at Minehead First, Old Cleeve and St. Michael’s. At St. Peter’s, where results dipped, there were specific reasons that related to the number of children with special educational needs in the class,” he said.