Today the School league tables have been issued (see Secondary school league tables in Nottinghamshire) and, while I am not convinced that they really show which schools are best, one thing shines out from them: the Secondary Schools in Worksop are failing our children.  Out the 45 schools listed on the Nottinghamshire table, on the value Added measure of how much improvement students make while at the school, Valley ranks 44^th & Portland 36^th.    The other schools in Bassetlaw do a little better with Serlby Park at 25^th, Tuxford at 23^rd, Retford Oaks at 20^th and Elizabethan at 14^th.

This isn’t just a one off. I have been monitoring the results of the schools in Worksop & across Bassetlaw for a number of years and our schools are nearly always at the bottom of the rankings.  I have brought this to the notice of the County Authorities a number of times and also written to the County Councillors & MP but nothing seems to be done.

I was told that the brand new buildings, built at vast cost to us as Council tax payers, would help but (as I said at the time) this has made no difference to the performance of the schools.  The results published today were for student who left school last summer more than 3 years after the new schools opened.  I am sure that we will now be told that Academy status will make the difference, again I will not be holding my breath.  Based on the what I have heard from parents & pupils at the two Worksop schools, for all the draconian discipline, educational standards do not seem to be improving

No doubt the Labour County Councillors for Worksop & our MP will do the best to blame the Conservative Administration in County Hall & the Coalition Government for all the ills afflicting these schools and lack of resources they have.  This won’t wash as Labour ran the County Council & the Government and oversaw these schools for many years and have done nothing to improve the standards of schools at the forgotten North of the County.

For too long the children of Worksop have been short changed by successive administrations and we all suffer.  Low educational standards means the jobs which need higher skill (and better pay) don’t come into the area; bad schools means young couples think twice before moving to the area;  not achieving their potential schools means the young adults don’t go on the jobs & careers they deserve; all this means that the town and the District cannot develop and improve.  Our schools are important to all of us, not just the parents & families of the students and not just to teachers and administrators.  We demand better schools for Worksop and want answers from those in charge as to why we have to.