Celebrating exam success and school improvement
The best part of doing the job of Lewisham’s cabinet member for Children and Young People comes in August, with the chance to visit our schools and join the celebrations as our young people get the reward for their hard work and receive their exam results.
Last week I visited the joint sixth form of Sydenham and Forest Hill Schools and spoke with many excited students - some off to study at Oxbridge and Russell Group universities, and a growing number choosing apprenticeships and alternatives to the traditional degree route.
Yesterday I was at Deptford Green - a school very much on an upward trajectory - with students excited to receive their desired grades to get them into the sixth form of their choice.
It’s early days but borough-wide results are looking good: at both A Level and GCSE our schools seem to have improved on the last pre-Covid year of 2019, ahead of the national trend. This is a testament to the talent and resilience of our young people, and our dedicated school staff who work tirelessly to help their students achieve their goals.
Summer is always a good time to reflect on where we are and where we need to go. It’s been a consistent priority for Lewisham to support our schools to improve and serve our young people better. I’m pleased that this seems to be paying off: nearly 98% of our schools are judged to be Good or Outstanding by OFSTED – well above national and London averages. We know there is more to do, but the latest exam results indicate the progress that continues to be made.
Schools are vital in building the future our children deserve. The pandemic also taught us that our schools play a crucial role in supporting families and community. In the current cost of living crisis, it’s fantastic that Mayor of London Sadiq Khan is providing funding for all primary children to get free school meals in the coming school year.
In Lewisham, as well as helping families with primary school children it means we can allocate more funding to our secondary schools to help with the growing issue of school hunger – young people coming to school with no money or food. I’ve been working with my Cabinet colleague Amanda De Ryk to tackle this issue and it’s been heartening when I visit schools to see how they are using the £500,000 we have been able to offer schools so far. From breakfast clubs, to food parcels, to free after school clubs teaching basic cooking skills- it’s yet another way our schools are showing that they are at the heart of their communities.
We plan to do more in the coming year to tackle school hunger and you can read about this in the new issue of Lewisham Life.
Finally, as we approach the new autumn term my thoughts go to our Year 6 parents, who will be visiting and applying for secondary schools over the next two months. We have so many excellent secondary schools right on our doorstep here in Lewisham, I strongly urge you to go and visit, and find what they can offer your child.