Grammar, punctuation and spelling results for 10 to 11 year olds

Published

Last updated 4 March 2021 - see all updates

1. Main facts and figures

  • 78% of 10 to 11 year olds met the expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling in the 2018 to 2019 school year

  • 36% of pupils met the higher standard

  • out of all ethnic groups, pupils from the Chinese and Indian ethnic groups were most likely to meet the expected standard

  • pupils from the Chinese ethnic group were most likely to meet the higher standard

  • out of all ethnic groups, White Gypsy and Roma pupils were least likely to meet both the expected and higher standards

  • in every ethnic group, girls were more likely than boys to meet both the expected and higher standard

2. Things you need to know

What the data measures

The data measures the percentage of pupils who met the expected and higher standards in grammar, punctuation and spelling by the end of year 6, when they are usually 10 or 11 years old.

Teachers assess each pupil against the following:

  • expected standard – pupils must have a scaled score of 100 or more
  • higher standard – pupils must have a scaled score of 110 or more

The progress score measures the progress that each pupil made between the end of year 2 and the end of year 6. This is compared with all other pupils in England with similar key stage 1 results. The data shows an average progress score for each ethnic group – a score of 0 (the national average) means pupils are making the expected amount of progress.

Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number. Progress scores are rounded to 1 decimal place.

The ethnic groups used in the data

The data uses the ethnic groups from the 2001 Census, with 2 exceptions:

  • White Irish Traveller, and White Gypsy and Roma children have been separated into 2 categories
  • pupils in the Chinese ethnic group are in a separate category from Asian pupils

Local authority data is shown for 6 aggregated ethnic groups:

  • Asian
  • Black
  • Chinese
  • Mixed
  • White
  • Other

This means estimates are shown for these groups as a whole. This is to make sure group sizes are big enough to make reliable generalisations.

Ethnicity was known for 99% of pupils.

Methodology

Read the detailed methodology document (PDF opens in a new window or tab) for the data on this page.

In the data file

See Download the data for:

  • results by eligibility for free school meals
  • confidence intervals for each ethnic group’s progress score – find out how we use confidence intervals to determine how reliable estimates are

3. By ethnicity

Location:
England
Time period:
2018 to 2019 school year
Source:
National curriculum assessments: key stage 2, 2019 (revised)
Percentage of pupils meeting the expected and higher standards in grammar, punctuation and spelling, and average scaled score, by ethnicity
Ethnicity Expected standard Higher standard Average scaled score
All 78 36 106
Asian 85 50 109
Bangladeshi 87 51 109
Indian 90 60 111
Pakistani 82 41 107
Asian other 86 54 110
Black 82 42 108
Black African 84 47 109
Black Caribbean 74 29 105
Black other 78 37 107
Chinese 90 63 112
Mixed 80 39 107
Mixed White/Asian 85 46 108
Mixed White/Black African 80 39 107
Mixed White/Black Caribbean 74 28 105
Mixed other 81 42 108
White 77 33 106
White British 77 32 106
White Irish 82 40 107
Gypsy/Roma 29 5 96
Irish Traveller 37 8 98
White other 76 36 106
Other 77 41 107
Unknown 61 27 105

Download table data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV)

Summary of Grammar, punctuation and spelling results for 10 to 11 year olds By ethnicity Summary

The data shows that:

  • 78% of pupils met the expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling in year 6 (when they were 10 or 11 years old)

  • 36% met the higher standard

  • 90% of pupils from the Chinese and Indian ethnic groups met the expected standard, the highest percentage out of all ethnic groups

  • 29% of White Gypsy and Roma pupils met the expected standard, the lowest percentage out of all ethnic groups

  • 63% of pupils from the Chinese ethnic group met the higher standard, the highest percentage out of all ethnic groups

  • 5% of White Gypsy and Roma pupils met the higher standard, the lowest percentage out of all ethnic groups

  • pupils from the Chinese ethnic group had the highest average scaled score, at 112, compared with the national average of 106

4. By ethnicity and gender

Location:
England
Time period:
2018 to 2019 school year
Source:
National curriculum assessments: key stage 2, 2019 (revised)
Percentage of pupils meeting the expected and higher standards in grammar, punctuation and spelling, and average scaled score, by ethnicity and gender
Boys Girls
Ethnicity Boys Expected Boys Higher Boys Average scaled score Girls Expected Girls Higher Girls Average scaled score
All 74 31 105 83 41 107
Asian 82 45 108 89 55 110
Bangladeshi 83 46 109 90 57 110
Indian 87 54 110 93 65 112
Pakistani 78 36 107 86 47 109
Asian other 84 49 109 89 59 111
Black 77 37 107 86 47 109
Black African 81 41 108 88 52 110
Black Caribbean 67 22 104 81 36 107
Black other 73 32 106 84 42 108
Chinese 88 59 111 93 68 112
Mixed 75 34 106 85 44 108
Mixed White/Asian 81 41 107 89 52 110
Mixed White/Black African 74 33 106 86 44 108
Mixed White/Black Caribbean 68 23 104 80 34 106
Mixed other 77 37 107 86 46 109
White 72 28 105 81 38 107
White British 72 27 105 82 37 107
White Irish 79 36 106 85 45 108
Gypsy/Roma 24 3 95 34 8 97
Irish Traveller 31 6 97 43 9 99
White other 72 31 105 80 41 107
Other 73 37 106 81 45 108
Unknown 57 22 104 66 32 106

Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and gender’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and gender’ (CSV)

Summary of Grammar, punctuation and spelling results for 10 to 11 year olds By ethnicity and gender Summary

The data shows that:

  • 83% of girls and 74% of boys met the expected standard

  • 41% of girls and 31% of boys met the higher standard

  • in every ethnic group, girls were more likely than boys to meet both the expected and higher standard

  • girls from the Chinese and Indian ethnic groups were the most likely to meet the expected standard (93%)

  • boys from the White Gypsy and Roma ethnic group were the least likely to meet the expected standard (24%)

  • girls from the Chinese ethnic group were most likely to meet the higher standard (68%)

  • boys from the White Gypsy and Roma ethnic group were least likely to meet the higher standard (3%)

  • the biggest gap between girls and boys at the expected standard was in the Black Caribbean ethnic group, where 81% of girls and 67% of boys met the standard

  • the smallest gap between girls and boys at the expected standard was in the Chinese ethnic group (93% compared with 88%)

  • overall, the average scaled score was 107 for girls and 105 for boys

  • girls from the Chinese and Indian ethnic group had the highest average scaled score (112), while boys from the White Gypsy and Roma ethnic group had the lowest (95)

5. By ethnicity and area

Location:
England
Time period:
2018 to 2019 school year
Source:
National curriculum assessments: key stage 2, 2019 (revised)
Percentage and number of pupils meeting the expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling, by ethnicity and area
All Asian Black Chinese Mixed White Other
Local authority All % All Pupils Asian % Asian Pupils Black % Black Pupils Chinese % Chinese Pupils Mixed % Mixed Pupils White % White Pupils Other % Other Pupils
Barking and Dagenham 83 2,898 89 681 88 959 100 10 79 243 76 959 67 32
Barnet 85 3,570 90 420 82 407 95 52 85 364 85 1,889 86 398
Barnsley 77 2,182 96 24 77 17 100 2 79 56 77 2,061 90 9
Bath and North East Somerset 80 1,454 89 25 73 8 80 4 86 81 80 1,318 67 6
Bedford 72 1,560 76 250 83 104 83 5 69 175 71 1,004 57 16
Bexley 82 2,745 91 247 90 545 100 56 82 193 77 1,640 78 46
Birmingham 79 12,863 84 5,076 81 1,707 89 77 78 1,084 74 4,098 78 665
Blackburn with Darwen 82 1,798 86 846 88 29 100 5 86 62 77 830 100 21
Blackpool 80 1,334 91 32 60 3 75 3 77 46 80 1,244 63 5
Bolton 81 3,191 85 820 74 184 100 6 84 131 80 1,981 74 55
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 79 3,019 92 121 88 14 93 13 81 184 78 2,627 78 31
Bracknell Forest 80 1,134 92 72 88 42 90 9 80 81 79 919 86 6
Bradford 78 6,171 83 2,800 83 109 100 7 76 309 74 2,839 75 76
Brent 84 3,065 87 962 85 744 100 9 85 240 81 746 80 343
Brighton and Hove 78 2,107 87 74 88 51 89 17 85 238 77 1,643 80 45
Bristol, City of 77 3,741 80 310 75 409 96 22 74 330 78 2,617 69 34
Bromley 83 3,103 94 201 85 312 96 27 83 340 82 2,121 76 52
Buckinghamshire 81 5,045 86 903 82 136 92 23 81 394 79 3,515 83 35
Bury 79 1,888 81 294 76 44 83 10 81 94 79 1,416 77 24
Calderdale 78 2,149 85 408 56 14 100 9 82 90 77 1,611 73 11
Cambridgeshire 76 5,387 91 270 83 71 92 44 80 302 75 4,587 80 49
Camden 84 1,296 86 295 84 244 94 16 85 145 84 511 83 67
Central Bedfordshire 73 2,549 86 64 87 77 100 4 75 193 72 2,174 83 15
Cheshire East 81 3,428 85 73 81 13 79 11 84 147 81 3,154 79 15
Cheshire West and Chester 79 3,165 92 55 63 12 76 13 79 84 79 2,976 81 17
City of London 100 28 100 11 100 2 N/A* N/A* 100 4 100 9 100 2
Cornwall 73 4,285 73 11 67 2 89 8 78 112 73 4,088 77 17
County Durham 79 4,504 88 30 78 7 78 14 87 87 79 4,342 84 16
Coventry 79 3,470 83 792 84 448 90 19 81 238 76 1,895 69 49
Croydon 79 3,684 90 654 79 1,044 91 29 75 546 77 1,313 80 55
Cumbria 78 4,073 84 37 78 7 75 6 83 64 78 3,895 84 16
Darlington 79 1,014 84 26 71 5 100 1 80 24 79 942 82 9
Derby 75 2,493 85 530 86 112 100 10 77 192 72 1,568 73 54
Derbyshire 78 6,806 93 99 79 19 97 32 82 214 78 6,369 86 19
Devon 76 6,030 92 57 91 10 91 21 77 150 76 5,715 68 36
Doncaster 75 2,815 81 88 80 44 86 18 76 84 75 2,554 77 17
Dorset 76 2,954 93 25 83 10 100 12 78 95 75 2,794 100 3
Dudley 74 2,888 84 341 70 66 71 10 73 189 74 2,219 62 51
Ealing 86 3,742 89 1,114 85 586 100 18 87 313 85 1,118 84 556
East Riding of Yorkshire 78 2,863 94 16 71 5 100 2 86 67 78 2,736 78 14
East Sussex 73 3,993 85 98 78 32 93 13 75 242 72 3,552 53 17
Enfield 80 3,721 90 347 82 960 93 27 83 400 76 1,718 86 213
Essex 79 13,111 94 420 88 459 94 51 83 745 78 11,187 81 107
Gateshead 82 1,716 87 40 86 32 89 8 87 33 81 1,566 79 26
Gloucestershire 78 5,321 89 181 75 83 82 14 83 281 77 4,689 77 17
Greenwich 83 2,785 89 251 88 1,076 90 43 85 290 75 1,045 89 72
Hackney 78 2,022 83 258 78 736 91 10 80 214 74 666 81 124
Halton 75 1,199 86 6 100 1 N/A* N/A* 79 26 75 1,153 40 2
Hammersmith and Fulham 84 1,107 86 69 79 295 100 3 74 136 89 451 87 130
Hampshire 79 11,671 89 426 87 161 83 44 83 486 78 10,418 88 84
Haringey 81 2,480 93 175 80 640 93 28 83 286 80 1,199 72 134
Harrow 89 2,606 93 1,300 84 238 100 8 85 217 85 701 87 106
Hartlepool 79 930 88 21 67 2 89 8 80 12 79 882 40 2
Havering 83 2,511 91 222 88 321 78 7 86 181 81 1,735 85 17
Herefordshire, County of 81 1,514 90 9 100 7 100 3 83 50 80 1,433 86 6
Hertfordshire 80 11,383 88 1,077 83 541 93 63 82 828 78 8,656 81 137
Hillingdon 84 3,294 91 978 85 375 100 6 85 399 79 1,210 86 278
Hounslow 85 2,800 91 983 87 343 94 17 82 238 78 861 86 324
Isle of Wight 70 903 80 8 67 2 100 5 74 37 70 846 100 1
Isles of Scilly 53 10 N/A* N/A* N/A* N/A* N/A* N/A* N/A* N/A* 50 9 N/A* N/A*
Islington 81 1,537 85 128 78 383 100 10 80 245 81 676 81 79
Kensington and Chelsea 88 835 86 36 90 164 100 3 89 166 88 303 88 145
Kent 77 13,845 92 668 88 465 100 51 82 804 76 11,614 84 133
Kingston upon Hull, City of 78 2,492 94 50 78 51 100 5 80 94 77 2,225 81 60
Kingston upon Thames 85 1,614 92 304 89 32 100 30 86 183 82 933 87 114
Kirklees 78 4,312 81 1,224 74 76 100 16 74 274 77 2,659 70 35
Knowsley 77 1,395 89 34 75 9 50 1 69 27 77 1,309 89 8
Lambeth 83 2,512 91 143 81 1,089 88 15 83 348 84 775 82 124
Lancashire 78 10,961 82 1,319 79 45 88 36 82 394 77 9,066 84 54
Leeds 76 7,133 81 895 77 587 88 46 74 469 76 4,964 69 126
Leicester 79 3,736 85 1,725 84 402 100 17 78 258 70 1,212 81 87
Leicestershire 80 6,133 91 520 85 77 86 24 85 320 79 5,133 80 24
Lewisham 80 2,765 91 187 79 1,084 87 41 78 438 79 887 79 89
Lincolnshire 75 6,165 97 84 81 34 92 23 80 199 74 5,741 83 29
Liverpool 76 3,952 83 197 80 200 89 70 78 231 75 3,099 68 145
Luton 80 2,591 82 1,260 83 285 90 9 82 230 74 745 83 43
Manchester 78 5,286 84 1,287 82 982 86 55 79 452 75 2,102 75 370
Medway 73 2,460 90 168 87 213 86 6 74 167 70 1,862 85 29
Merton 86 1,970 93 456 85 293 100 15 80 185 84 947 88 63
Middlesbrough 76 1,406 85 167 78 14 N/A* N/A* 79 88 75 1,096 77 36
Milton Keynes 81 3,047 93 453 86 460 92 24 84 262 77 1,755 93 28
Newcastle upon Tyne 78 2,303 86 349 83 157 92 33 78 105 76 1,590 74 59
Newham 87 4,133 90 1,940 87 967 100 20 83 258 80 670 88 246
Norfolk 71 6,553 90 128 77 63 87 33 72 233 71 5,983 75 59
North East Lincolnshire 78 1,492 94 17 86 6 100 1 84 49 78 1,395 76 16
North Lincolnshire 78 1,533 86 65 75 9 100 3 76 26 78 1,409 71 10
North Somerset 76 1,829 82 27 92 11 88 7 85 78 75 1,696 75 3
North Tyneside 79 1,918 84 49 84 16 94 16 82 62 78 1,764 75 6
North Yorkshire 75 4,768 86 72 65 20 90 9 74 128 75 4,494 64 16
Northamptonshire 75 7,081 88 393 83 441 97 32 76 392 73 5,726 70 49
Northumberland 76 2,694 89 51 40 2 100 7 79 52 75 2,566 75 9
Nottingham 77 2,772 87 505 81 360 92 11 80 390 73 1,412 78 82
Nottinghamshire 78 7,245 89 254 78 86 92 24 81 337 77 6,443 80 47
Oldham 79 2,741 82 960 80 104 85 11 80 144 77 1,492 56 15
Oxfordshire 77 5,750 81 378 80 168 95 19 78 400 77 4,639 68 68
Peterborough 72 2,169 78 441 79 107 88 7 75 141 70 1,416 78 28
Plymouth 78 2,310 89 24 92 22 100 10 80 72 78 2,136 75 30
Portsmouth 73 1,621 90 108 84 64 56 5 87 104 70 1,284 81 35
Reading 78 1,470 88 334 83 159 100 11 75 162 74 760 88 21
Redbridge 86 3,492 90 1,963 83 389 100 21 81 250 79 780 85 46
Redcar and Cleveland 81 1,327 80 8 80 4 100 1 94 47 81 1,256 29 2
Richmond upon Thames 91 2,114 95 197 76 44 92 22 88 201 92 1,576 87 47
Rochdale 79 2,386 83 652 79 100 100 12 79 91 78 1,495 70 26
Rotherham 73 2,461 66 175 77 51 92 11 70 76 73 2,111 86 24
Rutland 84 334 100 5 67 4 N/A* N/A* 100 12 84 308 100 4
Salford 79 2,360 93 95 84 144 100 1 80 193 79 1,844 64 63
Sandwell 78 3,712 85 1,179 79 385 92 22 76 337 74 1,681 78 89
Sefton 79 2,322 90 27 71 10 86 6 83 64 79 2,197 69 9
Sheffield 75 4,764 81 636 77 297 90 43 74 362 74 3,221 79 174
Shropshire 78 2,406 88 21 86 6 100 4 82 76 78 2,281 75 3
Slough 84 1,988 92 1,043 85 180 100 3 84 178 71 487 92 85
Solihull 83 2,174 91 311 88 50 97 29 84 185 80 1,541 91 29
Somerset 73 4,310 86 69 88 14 92 12 76 135 73 4,040 56 10
South Gloucestershire 78 2,581 88 92 84 38 91 10 86 147 77 2,260 77 20
South Tyneside 80 1,327 88 50 90 9 100 3 72 31 80 1,222 89 8
Southampton 74 2,091 78 288 81 73 94 15 73 128 73 1,542 77 40
Southend-on-Sea 80 1,759 91 128 84 54 96 22 82 121 78 1,402 94 15
Southwark 82 2,712 86 155 82 1,231 83 25 80 301 81 753 78 198
St. Helens 79 1,738 100 20 83 10 90 9 79 34 79 1,658 63 5
Staffordshire 79 7,702 85 376 70 54 89 33 75 265 79 6,897 83 38
Stockport 80 2,761 89 224 82 37 91 20 79 143 80 2,296 78 25
Stockton-on-Tees 81 2,037 85 117 89 24 71 5 87 58 81 1,821 71 5
Stoke-on-Trent 75 2,508 82 412 82 106 92 11 82 130 73 1,806 73 41
Suffolk 73 5,862 87 127 77 66 50 2 78 362 73 5,173 78 58
Sunderland 79 2,582 91 120 96 27 69 9 82 45 79 2,375 33 1
Surrey 82 10,207 89 773 84 193 96 67 85 669 81 8,301 80 106
Sutton 85 2,035 94 398 89 150 93 38 86 202 81 1,190 94 32
Swindon 78 2,260 86 298 85 77 87 13 75 135 76 1,697 83 20
Tameside 79 2,335 86 268 86 72 100 13 83 117 78 1,833 79 19
Telford and Wrekin 78 1,792 81 120 87 76 92 12 89 104 77 1,466 83 5
Thurrock 81 1,958 93 125 91 362 100 16 89 127 77 1,287 81 21
Torbay 74 1,074 92 23 100 1 75 3 67 28 74 1,005 64 7
Tower Hamlets 85 2,806 87 1,888 83 278 100 11 79 169 76 348 89 97
Trafford 86 2,600 92 408 82 113 95 59 88 204 85 1,720 86 70
Wakefield 76 3,058 81 133 89 50 95 21 75 93 76 2,742 62 16
Walsall 77 2,928 86 808 78 153 93 13 73 172 74 1,738 61 31
Waltham Forest 84 2,787 88 769 82 526 93 27 86 344 81 999 82 106
Wandsworth 83 1,981 86 380 79 437 100 10 81 241 83 816 82 73
Warrington 83 2,177 89 78 83 19 100 6 96 73 83 1,976 65 13
Warwickshire 79 5,013 90 345 84 66 91 20 83 263 77 4,251 90 27
West Berkshire 75 1,458 85 46 70 16 100 6 78 81 74 1,291 80 8
West Sussex 75 6,974 84 367 78 98 91 20 80 367 75 6,010 79 41
Westminster 86 1,224 88 169 83 213 92 11 87 130 85 317 87 372
Wigan 79 3,031 81 35 74 42 67 4 84 82 80 2,838 68 26
Wiltshire 76 4,075 92 61 75 67 100 16 84 158 75 3,704 77 37
Windsor and Maidenhead 78 1,236 82 208 82 18 100 6 81 112 76 857 90 19
Wirral 75 2,821 90 81 72 13 95 19 80 78 75 2,611 56 5
Wokingham 85 1,809 93 285 98 61 100 14 86 144 82 1,270 94 17
Wolverhampton 79 2,646 84 656 83 329 88 7 75 297 76 1,308 77 36
Worcestershire 75 4,601 81 205 86 25 100 10 76 184 74 4,120 75 18
York 78 1,543 90 37 86 6 100 4 79 48 77 1,429 82 9

* Not applicable

Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and area’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and area’ (CSV)

Summary of Grammar, punctuation and spelling results for 10 to 11 year olds By ethnicity and area Summary

The data shows that:

  • out of all local authorities, White pupils were most likely to meet the expected standard in Richmond upon Thames (92%) and least likely to in Isle of Wight, Leicester, Medway, Peterborough, and Portsmouth (70%) – this doesn't include City of London and Isles of Scilly which only have one school each, and whose results need to be treated with caution
  • figures for other ethnic groups are based on small numbers of pupils, so reliable generalisations can't be made

6. Data sources

Source

Type of data

Administrative data

Type of statistic

National Statistics

Publisher

Department for Education

Publication frequency

Yearly

Purpose of data source

The main purpose is to measure schools' and pupils' progress and performance from key stage 1 to key stage 2, in order to monitor and improve standards and inform parental choice when applying to local schools.

7. Download the data

KS2 Grammar, punctuation and spelling -- National - Spreadsheet (csv) 130 KB

This file contains the following: measure, ethnicity, ethnicity_type, time, time_type, geography, geography_type, geography_code, gender, age, FSM, value, value_type, denominator, numerator

KS2 Grammar, punctuation and spelling -- Local authority - Spreadsheet (csv) 868 KB

This file contains the following: measure, ethnicity, ethnicity_type, time, time_type, geography, geography_type, geography_code, gender, age, value, value_type, denominator, numerator

Publication release date: 13 May 2020

Updated: 4 March 2021

full page history
  1. Moved all contextual information to ‘Things you need to know’ and new subsections. Increased visibility by adding it to the table of contents. Removed any duplication and added links to content about understanding our data. Charts, tables and the data file have not been updated.
  2. Updated with the latest available data (for the 2018 to 2019 school year).

From: Department for Education

Previous editions:
  1. Edition published on 19 September 2019
  2. Edition published on 14 May 2019
  3. Edition published on 5 March 2018
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