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27 Feb 2006 : Column 531W—continued

External Security Services

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate she has made of the number of schools that are regularly patrolled by an external security service. [52596]

Jacqui Smith: We do not have an estimate of the number of schools using private security patrols. However, guidance on their use is contained in our Managing School Facilities Guide 4, Improving Security in Schools".

Foundation Schools

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 22 November 2005,
 
27 Feb 2006 : Column 532W
 
Official Report, column 1959W, on schools, how many and what proportion of foundation schools currently have a foundation. [33209]

Jacqui Smith: We do not hold this information centrally: foundation schools with a foundation are not a distinct category of schools, and so are not identified separately on the register of schools. However, based on information supplied by local authorities, we understand that 96 foundation schools have foundations, comprising around 11 per cent. of the total number of foundation schools.

Further Education

Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to paragraph 54 of Priorities for Success, which courses that currently carry nine or fewer guided learning hours she plans to subsume into larger courses and fund; and from which courses of nine or fewer guided learning hours she intends to withdraw funding. [28632]

Bill Rammell: The Department has no plans to issue guidance on this matter. Individual colleges and providers will decide how to re-organise their provision in light of the funding changes to be introduced and the priorities they agree with their local Learning and Skills Council.

Mr. Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of adult further education 19 plus students in (a) 2004–05 and (b) 2005–06 were (i) full-time and (ii) part-time. [53039]

Bill Rammell: In 2004/05 there were 3,477,000 learners aged 19+ in further education (FE) funded by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC). Of these learners 11 per cent. (366,000) were full-time ¹ and the remaining 89 per cent. (3,111,000) part-time.

Figures for 2005/06 are not yet available as the LSC academic year which spans 1 August to 31 July has not finished. Initial estimates—based on the numbers enrolled on October 1 2005—will be published in the Statistical First Release (SFR) Further Education, Work-Based Learning for Young People and Adult and Community Learning—Learner Numbers in England on 1 October 2005' by the LSC on 23 March 2006. Full-year figures for 2005/06 are likely to be published in December 2006.

¹ Full-time students are defined as those enrolled on programmes of at least 450 guided learning hours per year, or for at least 150 guided learning hours per tri-annual period or more than 16 guided learning hours per week for shorter courses.

Mr. Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of adult further education 19 plus students were (a) employed, (b) self-employed, (c) unemployed and (d) economically inactive in (i) 2004–05 and (ii) 2005–06. [53040]

Bill Rammell: The following table shows estimates of the proportion of adult further education 19+ students who were (a) employed, (b) self-employed, (c) unemployed and (d) economically inactive in 2004–05. Data come from the Labour Force Survey, winter 2004–05.
 
27 Feb 2006 : Column 533W
 

	Percentage
Employed	68
Self-employed	7
Unemployed	4
Economically inactive	21

Note:
As with all sample surveys the estimates presented in this table are subject to sampling variability.

Figures in the table are based on survey responses within the period December 2004 to February 2005. Estimates for the full academic year are not available from the Labour Force Survey. However, they may differ from the snapshot presented here as they will include a higher proportion of part-time learners.

Figures for 2005–06 are not yet available. The Labour Force Survey for winter 2005–06 will be published in mid April 2006.

GCSEs

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps she is taking to improve the performance of pupils who attain fewer than five GCSEs or equivalent at grade A* to G. [47968]

Jacqui Smith: 2005 results show that 89 per cent. of pupils achieved five or more GCSEs or equivalent at grades A*-G, an increase of 0.2 percentage points compared with 2004. 96.4 per cent. (nearly 614,000) pupils reached school leaving age with a pass of some kind, an increase of 0.5 percentage point on 2004.

The Department has a number of initiatives to ensure that schools receive the resources, advice and support that they need to raise attainment further at Key Stage 4. The Key Stage 3 National Strategy has extended to become a full Secondary National Strategy for School Improvement designed to raise standards for all secondary school pupils, including low attaining pupils. In addition, we are also drawing on the expertise of successful schools and the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust to work in partnership with around 400 schools underperforming in value added terms.
 
27 Feb 2006 : Column 534W
 

The Government's White Paper—Higher Standards, Better Schools for All—set out our commitment to an extra investment of £565 million by 2007/08 to support personalisation in primary and secondary schools, focussing particularly on helping children who have fallen behind in English and mathematics. A further £60 million will be available in each of the next two years to provide effective one-to-one and small group tuition for the lowest attaining pupils.

In the 14–19 Education and Skills White Paper we announced the introduction of specialised diplomas. These will be available to young people from age 14 and will provide a high quality, broad-based education, including functional and wider employability skills, but with a strong focus on applied learning. The first pilots will start in 2008.

We also proposed a work-focused programme to motivate 14 to 16-year-olds with relatively low attainment, who are at risk of serious disaffection, building on the lessons of the Entry to Employment programme for 16 to 19-year-olds. Pilots are to start from 2006/07.

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what percentage of pupils in (a) each Fresh Start school achieved five or more GCSE passes in 2004–05 and (b) in each of the schools they replaced in the final year of their operation; and if she will make a statement. [48128]

Jacqui Smith: The following tables show the numbers and percentages of 15-year-olds achieving five or more passes at GCSE or equivalent level at grades A* to C and A* to G in Fresh Start schools in 2005 and in the schools they replaced in their last year of operation. The Fresh Start initiative was introduced in 1998 to help pupils in schools which were facing intractable problems. Overall the initiative has been a success. The majority of Fresh Start schools have had successful Ofsted inspections.

The National Audit Office in their report Improving poorly performing schools in England" (January 2006) found that the nine secondary Fresh Start schools

that had reached their fifth year were on average doing more than twice as well as their predecessor schools in terms of the proportion of pupils achieving five A*-C grade GCSEs".

2005 GCSE results for Fresh Start schools and their predecessor schools in their last year of operation

	2005
New school name	Number of 15-year-old pupils(118)	Number of 15-year-olds achieving 5+ A*-C at GCSE and equivalent	Percentage of 15-year-olds achieving 5+ A*-C including GCSE equivalents	Former school(s) name	Last operational year	Number of 15-year-old pupils(118)	Number of 15-year-olds achieving 5+ A*-C at GCSE/GNVQ	Percentage of 15-year-olds achieving 5+ A*-C including GCSE/GNVQ
All Saints College	146	58	40	Firfield	1998	0	0	0
				Blakelaw	1998	61	4	7
Fir Vale School	132	52	39	Earl Marshal School	1998	92	9	10
The King's CE School	142	52	37	Regis County	1998	129	38	29
Park View Academy	224	104	46	The Langham	1998	177	23	13
Islington Arts and Media	135	59	44	George Orwell School	1999	90	16	18
Kingswood High School	185	83	45	Perronet Thompson School	1999	168	13	8
New College Leicester	252	26	10	New Parks Community College	1999	127	17	13
Bishopsford Community School	159	33	21	Watermeads High School	1999	108	14	13
River Leen School	150	44	29	Alderman Derbyshire School	1999	100	11	11
Kings High School	85	22	26	Kingsleigh	2000	77	8	10
Corby Community College149		28	19	Queen Elizabeth	2000	92	7	8
				Beanfield	2000	86	7	8
Parkwood High School116		38	33	Herries	2000	99	14	14
Kings College	122	61	50	Kings Manor	2000	79	8	10
Highcrest Community School90		36	40	Hatters Lane School	2001	67	15	22
The Hadden Park High School	179	42	33	Glaisdale	2001	133	8	6
Hinde House	175	56	32	Bracken Hill	2002	n/a	n/a	n/a
Jubilee High School	92	28	30	Abbeylands School	2002	99	25	25
Gateway Community	204	25	12	Torrells	2003	118	36	31
				St. Chads	2003	99	10	10
Rushall Community	69	12	17	Manor Farm Community School	2003	102	15	15

Note:
Hinde House is an all through 3–16 school with GCSE results but Bracken Hill was a primary school.





 
27 Feb 2006 : Column 535W
 

	2005
New school name	Number of 15-year-old pupils(118)	Number of 15-year-olds achieving 5+ A*-G at GCSE and equivalent	Percentage of 15-year-olds achieving 5+ A*-G including GCSE equivalents	Former school(s) name	Last operational year	Number of 15-year-old pupils(118)	Number of 15-year-olds achieving 5+ A*-G at GCSE/GNVQ	Percentage of 15-year-olds achieving 5+ A*-G including GCSE/GNVQ
All Saints College	146	94	64	Firfield	1998	0	0	0
				Blakelaw	1998	61	36	59
Fir Vale School	132	22	92	Earl Marshal School	1998	92	73	79
The King's CE School	142	27	89	Regis County	1998	129	117	91
Park View Academy	224	184	82	The Langham	1998	177	117	64
Islington Arts and Media	135	106	79	George Orwell School	1999	90	67	74
Kingswood High School	185	141	76	Perronet Thompson School	1999	168	117	70
New College Leicester	252	145	58	New Parks Community College	1999	127	71	56
Bishopsford Community School	159	138	87	Watermeads High School	1999	108	83	77
River Leen School	150	102	68	Alderman Derbyshire School	1999	100	81	81
Kings High School	85	71	84	Kingsleigh	2000	77	51	66
Corby Community College149		89	60	Queen Elizabeth	2000	92	63	68
				Beanfield	2000	86	55	64
Parkwood High School116		94	81	Herries	2000	99	77	78
Kings College	122	94	77	Kings Manor	2000	79	64	81
Highcrest Community School90		85	94	Hatters Lane School	2001	67	57	85
The Hadden Park High School	179	113	63	Glaisdale	2001	133	66	50
Hinde House	175	148	85	Bracken Hill	2002	n/a	n/a	n/a
Jubilee High School	92	71	77	Abbeylands School	2002	99	77	78
Gateway Community	204	150	74	Torrells	2003	118	100	85
				St. Chads	2003	99	64	65
Rushall Community	69	34	49	Manor Farm Cornmunity School	2003	102	71	70

⁽¹¹⁸⁾ Age calculated at start of academic year.
Note:
Hinde House is an all through 3–16 school with GCSE results but Bracken Hill was a primary school.





 
27 Feb 2006 : Column 537W
 

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of students in maintained schools gained five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C in each year since 1995. [52597]

Jacqui Smith: The information requested can be found in the following table. Figures for all schools have been provided for comparison.
Percentage of 15-year-old pupils⁽¹¹⁹⁾ achieving five or more GCSEs or equivalent⁽¹²⁰⁾ at grades A*-C in each year since 1994/95⁽¹²¹⁾

Academic year	All maintained schools(122)	All schools
1994/95	40.2	43.5
1995/96	41.5	44.5
1996/97	42.2	45.1
1997/98	43.5	46.3
1998/99	45.3	47.9
1999/2000	46.7	49.2
2000/01	47.5	50.0
2001/02	49.1	51.6
2002/03	50.7	52.9
2003/04	51.5	53.7
2004/05	54.2	56.3

⁽¹¹⁹⁾ Age at start of academic year i.e. 31 August.
⁽¹²⁰⁾ Figures from 1994/95 to 2002/03 include GCSEs/GNVQs. Figures from 2003/04 include GCSE and other equivalent qualifications approved pre-16.
⁽¹²¹⁾ Includes achievements for these pupils in previous academic years.
⁽¹²²⁾ Including community and foundation special schools, hospital schools and pupil referral units.

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to her answer of 7 February 2006, Official Report, column 1133W, on examination results, how many and what proportion of pupils who achieved any five A* to C grades at GCSE or equivalent including a full intermediate GNVQ would have achieved this level even if they had not taken the GNVQ. [52607]

Jacqui Smith: Revised figures for 2005 (further to the answer of the 7 February 2006) show that of the 636,796 15-year-old ¹ pupils on roll in 2005, 8.7 percent. achieved 5+ A*-C grades at GCSE and equivalent including a full intermediate GNVQ. Of the 358,413 pupils who achieved any 5+ A*-C grades in 2005, 15.4 percent. achieved this level including a full intermediate GNVQ.

Of the 55,244 15-year-old pupils who achieved 5+ A* to C grades at GCSE or equivalent including a full intermediate GNVQ 33,445 (60.5 percent.) would still have achieved this level even if they had not taken the GNVQ.

¹ Age at the beginning of the academic year (i.e. 31 of August).

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of 15-year-olds (a) sat and (b) obtained a GCSE at A*-C in a foreign language in each year since 2000, broken down by local educational authority. [39509]

Jacqui Smith: The information requested on modern foreign language results at local authority level has been placed in the House Library.

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what proportion of 15-year-olds achieved one or more GCSE at grades A* to C in each year since 1996. [47048]

 
27 Feb 2006 : Column 538W
 

Jacqui Smith: The information requested on the number of 15-year-olds achieving at least one GCSE or equivalent grade A*-C can be found as follows.
15-year-old pupils⁽¹²³⁾ achieving 1+ A*-C grade GCSEor equivalent⁽¹²⁴⁾

	Number	Percentage
1996	417,148	70.2
1997	413,859	70.5
1998	410,469	71.4
1999	421,590	72.6
2000	427,272	73.6
2001	446,619	74.0
2002	456,074	75.2
2003	470,481	75.6
2004	488,112	75.8
2005	493,575	77.5

⁽¹²³⁾ Pupils on roll aged 15 at the start of the academic year
⁽¹²⁴⁾ From 1997 includes GNVQ equivalencies and from 2004 equivalencies approved for use pre 16

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills (1) if she will list the local education authorities where fewer than 90 per cent. of 15-year-olds attained five or more GCSEs or equivalent at grades A* to G in 2004–05; [47052]

(2) if she will list the local education authorities where fewer than 90 per cent. of 15-year-olds were entered for five or more GCSEs or equivalent in 2004–05; [47051]

(3) if she will list the local education authorities where fewer than 90 per cent. of 15-year-olds attained five or more GCSEs or equivalent including English and mathematics at grades A* to G in 2004–05; [47050]

(4) if she will list the local education authorities where fewer than 75 per cent. of 15-year-olds attained one or more GCSEs or equivalent at grades A* to C in 2004–05. [47047]

Jacqui Smith: The information requested has been placed in the House Libraries

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many and what proportion of 15 year olds were entered for qualifications equivalent to five or more GCSEs in each year since 1996. [47053]

Jacqui Smith: The information requested on the number of 15-year-olds entered for at least five GCSE or equivalent can be found as follows.
15-year-old pupils⁽¹²⁵⁾ entered for 5+ GCSEs or equivalent⁽¹²⁶⁾

	Number	Percentage
1996	530,304	89.3
1997	525,572	89.6
1998	515,401	89.6
1999	525,077	90.4
2000	527,132	90.8
2001	547,812	90.8
2002	552,719	91.1
2003	568,643	91.4
2004	594,679	92.4
2005	589,410	92.6

⁽¹²⁵⁾ Pupils on roll aged 15 at the start of the academic year.
⁽¹²⁶⁾ From 1997 includes GNVQ equivalencies and from 2004 equivalencies approved for use pre 16.



 
27 Feb 2006 : Column 539W
 

Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils in Peterborough achieved five or more A*-C grades at GCSE in 2005. [53481]

Jacqui Smith: The figures requested are shown in the following table.
15-year-olds pupils⁽¹²⁷⁾ achieving 5 or more A* to C grades at GCSE and equivalent, 2005

Maintained schools only	Number	Percentage
Parliamentary constituency of Peterborough(128)	726	54.2
City of Peterborough local authority	1,154	53.5

⁽¹²⁷⁾ Age at the start of the academic year (i.e. 31 August)
⁽¹²⁸⁾ Pupils attending schools located in Peterborough constituency

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