Julien Kramer, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Director of Education, said: "We welcome these comments from Ofsted.

"We accept that still more needs to be done to improve standards still further - particularly around secondary education - and we are rising to the challenge.

"Make no mistake, there has never been a better time to be a pupil in Wolverhampton. Ofsted itself rates more Wolverhampton schools as either Good or Outstanding than ever before, with 83% of primary, secondary, nursery and special schools now holding one of the top 2 grades.

"This is already higher than the national average, and by supporting schools to improve and challenging where performance is below par, we expect more schools to become Good or Outstanding in the coming months.

"We are also making rapid improvements in pupil performance, with the progress being made by our young people among the best in the West Midlands.

"Last year, pupils recorded best ever outcomes at Early Years Foundation Stage, in Phonics and at Key Stages 1 and 2.

"The challenge now is to ensure this success is repeated at secondary level and we are beginning to see the fruits of our labour with much better GCSE results in 2015 compared to the year before, which made Wolverhampton the fourth most improved authority in the country.

"The council is also transforming Wolverhampton's educational estate, investing over £270 million on secondary buildings and over £40 million at primary level. This has developed high quality schools and facilities across the city and teachers and pupils have responded very positively in this investment in their future.

"We are determined to continue the rapid progress we are making, and are remorselessly focused on delivering excellence and driving every school to at least Good.

"There is still much work to be done, but the message is clear; education standards in Wolverhampton are as good as they have ever been - and are getting better."

To find out more about education opportunities in Wolverhampton, please visit Type=articles;Articleid=435;Title=Education and schools;.

  • released: Wednesday 13 July, 2016