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G3 Academy, Chelmsley Wood

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills why her Department has opposed the installation of fire sprinklers in the new G3 Academy in Chelmsley Wood. [28511]

Jacqui Smith: The Department did not oppose the installation of fire sprinklers in Grace Academy, Chelmsley Wood.

It is the Department's policy that each school plan, including that for Grace Academy, should be based on a fire risk assessment and where necessary incorporate the principles of fire engineering as an intrinsic part of its design. This is a statutory requirement of The Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations, (2003) with which Academies, as independent schools, must comply.

All schools, maintained or independent are designed in accordance with the highest industry specifications to meet the functional requirements of the Building Regulations on Fire Safety. Sprinkler systems are primarily incorporated for property protection whereas the Department's main concern is that

the safe escape of the occupants in case of fire is reasonably assured".

It is therefore felt that the use of automatic sprinkler systems is unnecessary. There is no requirement in The Building Regulations 2000 or the Education (Independent School Standards) (England) Regulations, (2003) for the installation of sprinklers to be included.

The decision on whether or not to install a sprinkler system in Grace Academy rested upon the advice of the appointed independent fire consultant. The consultant's
 
22 Nov 2005 : Column 1949W
 
expert view was that a sprinkler system was not a requirement for life safety. Based on this advice Solihull metropolitan borough council's building control department accepted the project without a sprinkler system.

GCSE Results

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) what proportion of 15-year-olds achieved five or more grades at A* to C at GCSE or equivalent which included GCSEs in English and mathematics in each year since 1995; [25419]

(2) what proportion of pupils achieved five or more GCSEs at grades A*to C or equivalent including English and mathematics, broken down by local education authority in (a) 1997 and (b) 2005; [25671]

(3) how many and what proportion of non-selective schools had more than 70 per cent. of pupils achieving (i) five GCSEs at grade A*to C or equivalent and (ii) five GCSEs at grade A*to C or equivalent including English and mathematics in each year since 1995. [25672]

Jacqui Smith: The information requested can be found in the following tables:
Table 1: Percentage of 15 year old pupils⁽⁴⁹⁾ achieving 5 or moreA*-C at GCSE or equivalent⁽⁵⁰⁾ including English and mathematics

Academic year	Percentage
2004/05(52)	44.1
2003/04	42.7
2002/03(51)	41.9
2001/02	42.1
2000/01	40.7
1999/2000	40.0
1998/99	38.6
1997/98	37.0
1996/97	35.6

⁽⁴⁹⁾ Age at start of academic year i.e. 31 August.
⁽⁵⁰⁾ Figures from 1996/97 to 2002/03 include GCSE/GNVQs only, figures from 2003/04 include other equivalent qualifications approved pre-16.
⁽⁵¹⁾ Figures decreased in 2002/03 because percentage of pupils achieving A*-C in Mathematics decreased.
⁽⁵²⁾ Figures for 2004/05 are provisional, all other figures are final.



Table 2: Percentage of 15-year-old pupils⁽⁵³⁾ achieving 5 or more A*-C at GCSE or equivalent⁽⁵⁴⁾ including English and mathematics by local authority

Local authority	Percentage
Academic year 1996/97
Barking and Dagenham	22.0
Barnet	42.2
Barnsley	21.0
Bath and North East Somerset	40.2
Bedfordshire	33.9
Berkshire	40.0
Bexley	35.6
Birmingham	25.0
Bolton	30.3
Bournemouth	40.5
Bradford	20.8
Brent	30.1
Brighton and Hove	27.1
Bromley	42.5
Buckinghamshire	50.4
Bury	37.3
Calderdale	29.4
Cambridgeshire	34.9
Camden	35.1
Cheshire	37.5
City of Bristol	22.6
City of Derby	26.7
City of Kingston-upon-Hull	14.8
Cornwall	36.0
Coventry	27.1
Croydon	28.4
Cumbria	33.4
Darlington	28.1
Derbyshire	33.6
Devon	33.8
Doncaster	24.8
Dorset	36.6
Dudley	31.4
Durham	27.4
Ealing	28.2
East Riding of Yorkshire	34.2
East Sussex	33.3
Enfield	31.4
Essex	35.0
Gateshead	31.5
Gloucestershire	41.6
Greenwich	19.9
Hackney	17.3
Hammersmith and Fulham	32.5
Hampshire	37.6
Haringey	17.9
Harrow	40.0
Hartlepool	19.6
Havering	37.9
Hereford and Worcester	34.8
Hertfordshire	41.5
Hillingdon	30.1
Hounslow	31.3
Isle of Wight	32.0
Isles of Scilly	27.8
Islington	16.5
Kensington and Chelsea	28.0
Kent	37.5
Kingston upon Thames	44.7
Kirklees	30.5
Knowsley	14.6
Lambeth	18.6
Lancashire	34.6
Leeds	28.5
Leicester City	24.8
Leicestershire	34.8
Lewisham	19.4
Lincolnshire	39.3
Liverpool	23.8
Luton	23.3
Manchester	19.1
Merton	30.1
Middlesbrough	21.0
Milton Keynes	21.9
Newcastle upon Tyne	24.9
Newham	23.2
Norfolk	34.0
North East Lincolnshire	22.8
North Lincolnshire	30.2
North Somerset	38.3
North Tyneside	31.0
North Yorkshire	42.7
Northamptonshire	31.3
Northumberland	34.2
Nottinghamshire	28.0
Oldham	27.4
Oxfordshire	36.7
Poole	40.8
Portsmouth	18.5
Redbridge	39.3
Redcar and Cleveland	30.0
Richmond upon Thames	36.5
Rochdale	25.3
Rotherham	27.8
Rutland	40.7
Salford	22.1
Sandwell	17.7
Sefton	35.6
Sheffield	29.3
Shropshire	37.0
Solihull	38.6
Somerset	37.6
South Gloucestershire	33.3
South Tyneside	27.3
Southampton	29.4
Southwark	17.1
St. Helens	30.0
Staffordshire	34.5
Stockport	40.8
Stockton on Tees	28.9
Stoke-on-Trent	22.5
Suffolk	33.5
Sunderland	26.1
Surrey	40.0
Sutton	47.3
Swindon	34.9
Tameside	28.5
Tower Hamlets	15.0
Trafford	44.3
Wakefield	28.2
Walsall	25.4
Waltham Forest	25.0
Wandsworth	23.2
Warwickshire	34.9
West Sussex	38.3
Westminster	22.5
Wigan	34.6
Wiltshire	39.0
Wirral	35.3
Wolverhampton	23.3
York	41.0
Academic year 2004/053
Barking and Dagenham	36.7
Barnet	57.2
Barnsley	35.4
Bath and North East Somerset	54.1
Bedfordshire	46.0
Bexley	47.3
Birmingham	42.3
Blackburn with Darwen	41.0
Blackpool	34.9
Bolton	41.7
Bournemouth	46.9
Bracknell Forest	44.0
Bradford	35.7
Brent	47.3
Brighton and Hove	43.5
Bristol	31.6
Bromley	52.8
Buckinghamshire	63.0
Bury	53.8
Calderdale	45.8
Cambridgeshire	53.9
Camden	43.5
Cheshire	53.9
City of Peterborough	42.3
City of Plymouth	43.8
Cornwall	49.7
Coventry	41.1
Croydon	45.9
Cumbria	49.9
Darlington	45.3
Derby	42.4
Derbyshire	47.6
Devon	49.3
Doncaster	38.0
Dorset	52.8
Dudley	43.4
Durham	43.2
Ealing	48.8
East Riding of Yorkshire	52.4
East Sussex	45.3
Enfield	45.5
Essex	47.2
Gateshead	43.9
Gloucestershire	57.2
Greenwich	37.4
Hackney	40.4
Halton	37.0
Hammersmith and Fulham	52.4
Hampshire	53.1
Haringey	35.9
Harrow	56.5
Hartlepool	39.4
Havering	53.6
Herefordshire	50.9
Hertfordshire	55.3
Hillingdon	41.4
Hounslow	51.1
Isle of Wight	34.1
Isles of Scilly	90.9
Islington	32.5
Kensington and Chelsea	44.0
Kent	50.2
Kingston upon Thames	65.4
Kingston-upon-Hull	30.2
Kirklees	42.0
Knowsley	30.0
Lambeth	37.4
Lancashire	48.7
Leeds	41.8
Leicester City	35.7
Leicestershire	51.0
Lewisham	41.2
Lincolnshire	49.9
Liverpool	34.9
Luton	38.1
Manchester	30.7
Medway	43.8
Merton	40.2
Middlesbrough	31.4
Milton Keynes	44.5
Newcastle upon Tyne	36.0
Newham	46.6
Norfolk	46.9
North East Lincolnshire	34.0
North Lincolnshire	41.4
North Somerset	50.8
North Tyneside	44.8
North Yorkshire	56.7
Northamptonshire	45.0
Northumberland	51.0
Nottingham City	27.9
Nottinghamshire	40.8
Oldham	40.1
Oxfordshire	49.2
Poole	57.6
Portsmouth	28.4
Reading	41.4
Redbridge	59.7
Redcar and Cleveland	40.4
Richmond upon Thames	50.9
Rochdale	39.3
Rotherham	41.9
Rutland	56.5
Salford	37.9
Sandwell	30.2
Sefton	44.2
Sheffield	42.1
Shropshire	55.9
Slough	53.1
Solihull	52.9
Somerset	49.8
South Gloucestershire	48.6
South Tyneside	36.1
Southampton	39.2
Southend	50.2
Southwark	31.8
St. Helens	42.3
Staffordshire	47.0
Stockport	47.9
Stockton on Tees	40.6
Stoke on Trent	35.3
Suffolk	49.1
Sunderland	38.6
Surrey	54.2
Sutton	63.2
Swindon	42.0
Tameside	40.1
Telford and the Wrekin	40.8
Thurrock	38.8
Torbay	48.8
Tower Hamlets	31.8
Trafford	62.2
Wakefield	45.2
Walsall	38.3
Waltham Forest	41.0
Wandsworth	44.9
Warrington	51.1
Warwickshire	49.4
West Berkshire	51.3
West Sussex	49.0
Westminster	47.5
Wigan	43.0
Wiltshire	52.8
Windsor and Maidenhead	53.4
Wirral	49.6
Wokingham	59.1
Wolverhampton	37.1
Worcestershire	47.9
York	49.9

⁽⁵³⁾ Age at start of academic year i.e. 31st August.
⁽⁵⁴⁾ Figures from 1996/97 include GCSE/GNVQs, figures from 2003/04 include other equivalent qualifications approved pre-16.
⁽⁵⁵⁾ 2004/05 figures are provisional, 1996/97 figures are final.
⁽⁵⁶⁾ Due to reorganisation, LA names and boundaries are not comparable for 1996/97 and 2004/05.



 
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Table 3: Number and percentage of non-selective schools⁽⁵⁷⁾ with 70 per cent. or more of 15-year-old pupils⁽⁵⁸⁾ achieving (i) five or more GCSEs at grade A* to C or equivalent⁽⁵⁹⁾ and (ii) five or more GCSEs at grade A* to C or equivalent⁽⁵⁹⁾ including English and mathematics in each year since 1995

	Numbers		Numbers
	5+ A*-C	5+ A*-C inc. E&M	5+ A*-C	5+ A*-C inc. E&M	Number of schools(57)
2003/04	413	413	14.0	3.7	2,946
2002/03	367	367	12.5	2.7	2,931
2001/02	298	298	10.2	2.3	2,935
2000/01	239	239	8.1	1.8	2,938
1999/2000	208	208	7.0	1.6	2,954
1998/99	180	180	6.1	1.5	2,964
1997/98	115	115	3.8	0.8	2,999
1996/97	79	79	2.6	0.8	3,000
1995/96	73	73	2.4	0.7	3,001
1996/95	52	52	1.7	0.5	3,003

⁽⁵⁷⁾ Includes maintained, mainstream schools with no selection policy upon entry.
⁽⁵⁸⁾ Age at start of academic year i.e. 31 August.
⁽⁵⁹⁾ Figures from 1996/97 include GCSE/GNVQs, figures from 2003/04 include other equivalent qualifications approved pre-16.
⁽⁶⁰⁾ The number and proportion of schools are not provided for 2004/05 as this data are currently being checked by schools as part of the Achievement and Attainment tables checking exercise. Revised figures, which take account of any amendments made by the schools during this exercise will be published in January 2006.

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