The Leader of the Liberal Democrat Opposition Group on Oldham Council, Councillor Howard Sykes MBE, has expressed his disappointment and concern about the latest Sats results in Oldham.

Commenting Cllr Sykes said: “We simply must do better.  When Oldham’s Sats results were the tenth worst in England and the lowest in Greater Manchester it is self-evident that there remains an awful lot of work to be done.”

“There was some positive news – I would like to especially congratulate the pupils at St Martins CE Primary School in Fitton Hill for their excellent results, and those at the Richmond and Westwood Academies for their progress in improving their  performance in writing and maths – but overall these results make dismal reading.“

Cllr Sykes added: “In recent months we have focused on poor performance amongst some of our Borough’s secondary schools, and the need for action here has been highlighted in the recommendations published by the Oldham Education Commission, but it is clear that many of our children are being failed at a much earlier age and condemned to a life of academic underachievement as they move to ‘big school’”.