New figures released by the Department for Education show the progress of pupils academically in Barking and Dagenham is one of the best in the country.

Called Progress 8, the measure determines how well students develop between the end of primary school and the end of secondary school.

A score of 0 is the national average and would mean pupils made the expected progress by the time they left, while a positive score shows further development. Barking and Dagenham has an average Progress 8 score of 0.21. This places the borough 20th out of 151 local authorities in England.

The headline measure was introduced in 2016 and is determined by reviewing the exam results across a range of subjects including English and maths. Progress 8 replaced the previous measure of the number of pupils gaining five GCSE grades at C or above.

‘Delighted’

Councillor Evelyn Carpenter, Cabinet Member for Educational Attainment and School Improvement, said: “We are delighted Barking and Dagenham has been ranked within the top 20 local authorities nationally for the Government’s headline Progress 8 measure.

“This continued success is down to the hard work and commitment of young people and the dedicated staff in our schools.

“With over 90 per cent of our borough’s schools rated as ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, these latest results continue to demonstrate Barking and Dagenham is as good as anywhere to get an education.”

Figures show students in the borough performed above the national average for results in the new-style English and maths exams, which gave pupils a score of 9-4 instead of A*-C.

Progress 8 isn’t a reflection of a schools results but of the progress from students entering the school to their exit.