NEARLY three-quarters of 14-year-olds in Kent are achieving the nationally expected level in English, maths and science, according to Government tables released today.

And some of the county’s secondary schools are among the best in the country for improving pupils’ performance between the ages of 11 and 14 – the so-called “added value” measure.

The Judd School in Tonbridge and Simon Langton School for Girls, along with the Simon Langton School for Boys in Canterbury, are rated as three of the country’s best-performing schools for added value, a statistic worked out by tracking the progress of pupils between 11 and 14.

The publication today of the results of the Key Stage Three tests for the county’s secondary schools indicate that standards in Kent are above the national average for all three subjects.

They also reveal about two thirds of the 105 secondary schools which appear in the tables are “adding value” to pupils’ progress, placing Kent among the best-performing education authorities.

In English, 72 per cent of pupils in Kent achieved Level Five – the nationally expected level – compared with 69 per cent nationally.

In maths, 73 per cent of pupils in Kent achieved Level Five compared with 71 per cent nationally, while in science 72 per cent achieved the expected level five compared with 68 per cent nationally. In Kent, the average point score was 35.3, above the national average of 34.3.

County education chiefs have hailed the results as a tremendous achievement.

Cllr Paul Carter, KCC's cabinet member for education, said: “We are building on good steady progress over the last three years. This is not a one-off and Kent schools are clearly accelerating ahead of others.”

The county’s 33 selective grammar schools performed best. Our analysis shows The Judd School in Tonbridge was county’s top performing school on the basis of the results. There, 100 per cent of pupils achieved Level Five in maths and science and 99 per cent in English.

It was also ranked as the best school in the county for adding value, with a score of 103.7 per cent (100 per cent is where a school is neither adding value or failing to add value).

Of Kent’s non-selective schools, The Bennett Memorial School in Tunbridge Wells was best-placed on point score and also scored well when it came to the value-added measure, where it ranked sixth.

The Ramsgate School in Ramsgate had the poorest results. The school, where 286 of the pupils on roll have special needs, is in special measures after failing an Ofsted report.

KCC is planning for the school to become the first independent specialist academy in the county.