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

Published

1. Main facts and figures

  • in 2017/18, 78% of pupils met the expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling by the end of key stage 2 (when they are usually 10 or 11 years old)
  • 34% of pupils met the higher standard
  • out of all ethnic groups, pupils from the Chinese group were the most likely to meet both the expected and higher standards
  • White Gypsy/Roma pupils were the least likely to meet both the expected and higher standards
  • girls were more likely than boys to meet both the expected and higher standards in all ethnic groups
  • girls from the Chinese ethnic group had the highest average scaled score, at 112 (compared with an average of 106)
  • White Gypsy/Roma boys (94) and girls (96) had the lowest average scaled scores
Things you need to know

In 2017/18, there were 619,654 pupils assessed for grammar, spelling and punctuation at state-funded schools in England, and ethnicity was known for 614,091 (99%) of them.

Of those whose ethnicity was known, 75% were White, 11% were Asian, 6% were Black, 6% were Mixed, 0.4% were Chinese and 2% were from the Other ethnic group.

Pupil numbers for key stage 2 vary between measures of attainment for different subjects. This is because pupils who don't have a valid result for a particular subject are excluded from the total. For more about valid results, see the Methodology section.

Previous versions of this page included attainment figures broken down by local authority area. The 2017/18 figures for local authorities will be added as soon as they are available.

What the data measures

This data measures the grammar, punctuation and spelling attainment of pupils at the end of key stage 2 (year 6), when children are 10 or 11 years old.

The data covers the academic year 2017/18 (September 2017 to July 2018). Download the data if you want data for the academic year 2015/16 and 2016/17.

The standards are divided into 2 categories:

  • expected standard – to meet this, pupils must have achieved a ‘scaled score’ of 100 or more in their grammar, punctuation and spelling tests
  • higher standard (sometimes called the ‘high score’) – to meet this, pupils must have achieved a ‘scaled score’ of 110 or more in their grammar, punctuation and spelling tests

The average scaled score measures the average attainment of pupils in key stage 2 maths tests. Results range from 80 to 120. A scaled score allows for variations in test difficulty year on year by standardising each pupil’s test results. This allows a clearer comparison between years. You can read more about scaled scores at key stage 2.

The ethnic categories used in this data

This data uses categories from the Department for Education’s school census. These groupings are broadly based on the 2001 national Census, with 3 exceptions:

  • Traveller of Irish Heritage and Gypsy/Roma children have been separated into 2 categories
  • Sri Lankan is included in the Asian/Asian British group but is not reported separately
  • Chinese pupils have been assigned a separate category from Asian

These changes were made after consultations with local authorities and lobby groups.

Data is reported for broad and detailed ethnic categories. These are

Asian/Asian British:

  • Indian
  • Pakistani
  • Bangladeshi
  • Sri Lankan
  • Other Asian background

Black/African/Caribbean/Black British:

  • Black African
  • Black Caribbean
  • Black Other

Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups:

  • White and Black Caribbean
  • White and Black African
  • White and Asian
  • Other Mixed background

White:

  • White British
  • White Irish
  • Traveller of Irish Heritage
  • Gypsy/Roma
  • Other White

Chinese

Other ethnic group

2. By ethnicity

Location:
England
Time period:
2017/18
Source:
Key stage 2 statistics
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 34 106
Asian 84 48 109
Bangladeshi 85 48 109
Indian 89 58 110
Pakistani 80 39 107
Asian other 86 53 110
Black 81 40 107
Black African 83 43 108
Black Caribbean 74 28 105
Black other 79 36 107
Chinese 90 62 111
Mixed 80 37 107
Mixed White/Asian 84 45 108
Mixed White/Black African 81 36 107
Mixed White/Black Caribbean 73 27 105
Mixed other 82 40 107
White 76 32 106
White British 77 32 106
White Irish 80 39 107
Gypsy/Roma 28 5 95
Irish Traveller 35 7 97
White other 75 34 106
Other 76 39 107
Unknown 64 28 105

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

Summary

The data shows that:

  • overall, in 2017/18, 78% of pupils met the expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling by the end of key stage 2 (when they are usually 10 or 11 years old), and 34% of pupils met the higher standard
  • pupils from the Chinese ethnic group had the highest attainment out of all ethnic groups, with 90% meeting the expected standard and 62% meeting the higher standard
  • White Gypsy/Roma pupils had the lowest attainment out of all ethnic groups, with 28% meeting the expected standard and 5% meeting the higher standard
  • on average, pupils from the Chinese ethnic group had the highest scaled score (111) and White Gypsy/Roma pupils had the lowest (95); the overall average scaled score was 106

3. By ethnicity and gender

Location:
England
Time period:
2017/18
Source:
Key stage 2 statistics
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 standard Boys Higher standard Boys Average scaled score Girls Expected standard Girls Higher standard Girls Average scaled score
All 73 30 105 82 39 107
Asian 81 43 108 87 53 110
Bangladeshi 83 43 108 88 53 110
Indian 86 53 110 92 63 111
Pakistani 76 34 106 83 44 108
Asian other 83 48 109 89 58 110
Black 77 35 106 85 45 108
Black African 80 39 107 87 48 109
Black Caribbean 68 23 104 81 34 106
Black other 73 30 105 84 43 108
Chinese 87 56 110 92 67 112
Mixed 75 32 106 84 42 108
Mixed White/Asian 80 40 107 88 49 109
Mixed White/Black African 77 31 106 85 42 108
Mixed White/Black Caribbean 67 22 104 78 32 106
Mixed other 77 35 106 86 45 108
White 72 27 105 81 36 107
White British 72 27 105 82 36 107
White Irish 75 35 106 85 42 108
Gypsy/Roma 23 4 94 33 5 96
Irish Traveller 33 7 97 36 8 98
White other 71 30 105 78 38 107
Other 74 35 106 79 42 108
Unknown 60 25 104 68 32 106

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

Summary

The data shows that:

  • in every ethnic group, a higher percentage of girls than boys met the expected standard and higher standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling
  • overall, 82% of girls met the expected standard and 39% met the higher standard, compared with 73% and 30% of boys respectively
  • girls from the Chinese and Indian ethnic groups had the highest attainment out of all ethnic groups across boys and girls, with 92% meeting the expected standard in both groups
  • boys from the White Gypsy/Roma ethnic group had the lowest attainment, with 23% meeting the expected standard
  • the biggest gap between girls and boys, at 13 percentage points, was found among Black Caribbean pupils, where 81% of girls and 68% of boys met the expected standard
  • the smallest attainment gap, at 1 percentage point, was found among White Irish Traveller pupils, where 8% of girls and 7% of boys met the higher standard

4. By ethnicity and area

Location:
England
Time period:
2017/18
Source:
Key stage 2 statistics
Percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling by ethnicity and area
All Asian Black Chinese Mixed White
Local Authority All % All Number Asian % Asian Number Black % Black Number Chinese % Chinese Number Mixed % Mixed Number White % White Number
Barking and Dagenham 83 2,824 92 633 85 937 100 7 83 221 76 959
Barnet 85 3,384 91 396 82 408 98 54 84 345 86 1,811
Barnsley 77 2,093 88 15 82 18 100 4 81 43 77 1,993
Bath and North East Somerset 78 1,478 82 23 75 9 57 4 73 73 78 1,355
Bedford 71 1,436 76 238 75 96 100 7 73 145 69 926
Bexley 82 2,609 93 234 88 536 97 29 79 183 79 1,565
Birmingham 77 12,070 82 4,643 79 1,620 95 62 76 1,007 73 3,988
Blackburn with Darwen 81 1,761 83 833 79 26 100 5 83 53 79 834
Blackpool 76 1,260 77 24 100 5 89 8 73 40 76 1,177
Bolton 80 3,004 85 757 71 161 92 12 88 135 78 1,892
Bournemouth 78 1,298 91 62 89 17 92 11 84 90 77 1,093
Bracknell Forest 77 1,062 93 80 87 40 100 3 82 68 75 858
Bradford 77 5,866 81 2,634 72 87 100 3 75 310 73 2,703
Brent 80 2,929 84 878 79 745 100 6 76 197 81 778
Brighton and Hove 78 2,048 86 79 77 41 100 11 78 231 77 1,621
Bristol, City of 75 3,498 74 284 74 414 88 23 74 270 76 2,457
Bromley 84 3,076 93 182 84 283 86 25 86 352 83 2,153
Buckinghamshire 79 4,853 84 865 79 131 90 18 80 357 78 3,403
Bury 79 1,812 80 270 79 44 80 4 80 94 79 1,368
Calderdale 76 2,005 79 319 88 14 50 1 68 64 76 1,590
Cambridgeshire 75 5,109 83 232 83 70 100 39 85 306 74 4,372
Camden 85 1,272 86 266 83 275 100 7 87 148 84 492
Central Bedfordshire 74 2,445 85 71 84 76 85 11 78 167 73 2,089
Cheshire East 82 3,311 87 62 89 17 87 13 81 128 82 3,057
Cheshire West and Chester 79 2,994 86 51 73 11 93 14 86 95 78 2,809
City of London 86 25 100 5 50 1 N/A* N/A* 67 2 87 13
Cornwall 73 4,228 78 21 83 5 78 7 79 94 73 4,051
County Durham 80 4,437 94 33 75 12 77 10 87 62 80 4,286
Coventry 79 3,322 88 724 85 458 87 13 78 229 76 1,834
Croydon 81 3,593 89 633 79 1,072 100 23 82 547 78 1,212
Cumbria 78 3,987 89 32 86 6 86 12 83 52 78 3,835
Darlington 80 982 83 24 100 5 100 3 83 24 79 919
Derby 75 2,399 84 486 84 118 93 14 79 220 71 1,510
Derbyshire 77 6,332 91 85 74 23 81 21 75 170 77 5,978
Devon 76 5,951 91 39 81 13 79 11 82 146 76 5,660
Doncaster 75 2,613 78 81 62 28 94 15 73 76 75 2,378
Dorset 75 3,243 81 30 93 13 100 9 77 117 75 3,043
Dudley 73 2,676 78 337 80 75 80 8 77 177 72 2,031
Ealing 85 3,467 87 1,056 83 538 93 14 85 327 83 991
East Riding of Yorkshire 79 2,802 86 12 100 2 50 1 91 61 79 2,709
East Sussex 74 3,951 88 105 68 23 83 10 75 186 74 3,569
Enfield 79 3,509 90 352 81 906 96 23 79 341 76 1,610
Essex 78 12,622 93 413 87 462 92 67 79 619 77 10,800
Gateshead 84 1,761 79 30 94 32 77 10 79 26 84 1,608
Gloucestershire 77 4,966 86 172 83 75 85 11 74 239 76 4,390
Greenwich 83 2,690 89 218 88 1,024 88 37 85 285 77 1,041
Hackney 84 2,108 90 279 82 755 95 19 81 209 84 706
Halton 75 1,097 100 3 75 3 N/A* N/A* 85 34 75 1,045
Hammersmith and Fulham 86 1,126 91 81 83 292 100 2 87 152 87 454
Hampshire 79 11,399 90 376 87 155 98 49 86 489 78 10,216
Haringey 82 2,506 92 164 79 656 87 34 85 274 81 1,197
Harrow 88 2,412 92 1,240 86 253 93 13 86 177 82 605
Hartlepool 79 892 96 26 100 2 50 2 92 11 78 849
Havering 82 2,439 91 186 87 304 94 16 86 151 80 1,741
Herefordshire, County of 79 1,492 100 7 67 2 100 3 72 31 79 1,435
Hertfordshire 80 10,939 90 941 82 486 88 59 83 823 79 8,452
Hillingdon 83 3,044 89 903 86 343 70 7 86 391 77 1,143
Hounslow 84 2,486 90 826 86 321 100 17 81 204 79 807
Isle of Wight 70 921 72 13 50 1 100 4 74 28 70 872
Isles of Scilly 82 28 N/A* N/A* N/A* N/A* N/A* N/A* 100 1 82 27
Islington 81 1,505 83 124 80 350 100 10 85 246 79 668
Kensington and Chelsea 89 851 92 34 88 141 100 4 85 150 89 325
Kent 76 13,153 90 576 90 386 92 44 79 724 75 11,198
Kingston upon Hull, City of 78 2,422 91 42 68 42 100 6 78 102 78 2,164
Kingston upon Thames 84 1,505 89 272 67 39 92 23 84 138 82 882
Kirklees 76 4,007 79 1,130 75 85 92 11 68 233 76 2,501
Knowsley 75 1,290 98 43 94 15 100 5 83 33 74 1,190
Lambeth 84 2,479 86 121 81 1,049 87 13 85 359 85 782
Lancashire 78 10,679 80 1,287 76 54 97 32 80 360 78 8,871
Leeds 75 6,706 79 849 75 504 95 52 75 393 74 4,756
Leicester 77 3,432 83 1,579 78 380 92 12 75 236 68 1,097
Leicestershire 79 5,965 90 517 85 68 94 30 78 269 78 5,028
Lewisham 81 2,733 87 220 80 1,061 89 40 82 385 79 872
Lincolnshire 74 5,709 93 65 74 26 100 16 73 172 74 5,372
Liverpool 75 3,710 87 153 77 191 88 63 77 193 75 2,970
Luton 77 2,393 81 1,171 77 263 100 4 79 201 72 712
Manchester 78 5,127 77 1,173 83 1,015 87 46 79 438 77 2,110
Medway 72 2,361 87 130 88 180 89 8 78 174 69 1,835
Merton 84 1,943 91 500 83 283 89 17 84 198 82 889
Middlesbrough 77 1,378 86 150 75 24 100 2 84 74 76 1,100
Milton Keynes 79 2,797 90 397 83 477 86 18 83 229 76 1,615
Newcastle upon Tyne 81 2,242 85 348 81 115 92 22 84 98 80 1,599
Newham 88 4,027 91 1,912 88 975 100 14 90 260 79 603
Norfolk 71 6,211 85 99 77 67 73 22 76 197 70 5,728
North East Lincolnshire 76 1,441 93 13 100 5 100 2 84 48 76 1,357
North Lincolnshire 77 1,501 84 64 43 3 N/A* N/A* 76 37 77 1,375
North Somerset 74 1,774 85 22 100 8 75 3 76 58 74 1,671
North Tyneside 79 1,750 85 51 93 25 100 7 79 49 78 1,611
North Yorkshire 74 4,340 92 79 57 12 92 11 74 110 74 4,091
Northamptonshire 75 6,743 84 351 80 378 93 26 75 380 74 5,540
Northumberland 79 2,636 87 47 100 6 50 1 85 46 79 2,525
Nottingham 77 2,653 83 489 80 300 100 17 75 339 74 1,421
Nottinghamshire 78 7,059 90 245 86 77 77 30 79 340 77 6,302
Oldham 79 2,648 82 937 83 90 100 7 82 120 77 1,457
Oxfordshire 77 5,432 81 330 77 133 80 20 76 332 77 4,501
Peterborough 71 1,964 77 394 78 87 83 5 69 115 69 1,304
Plymouth 75 2,174 88 28 82 23 94 15 76 66 75 2,004
Poole 74 1,042 92 34 67 6 N/A* N/A* 82 54 73 935
Portsmouth 72 1,546 86 127 81 55 90 9 80 77 70 1,237
Reading 77 1,254 84 274 82 138 80 4 72 125 74 682
Redbridge 84 3,277 87 1,817 80 353 89 17 82 282 79 730
Redcar and Cleveland 82 1,296 67 6 100 3 N/A* N/A* 84 27 82 1,253
Richmond upon Thames 90 1,922 89 149 94 61 100 16 90 199 90 1,428
Rochdale 79 2,287 82 591 84 102 80 4 77 113 78 1,445
Rotherham 74 2,415 82 215 83 44 75 3 70 64 74 2,064
Rutland 82 322 80 4 0 0 100 1 86 12 82 300
Salford 80 2,272 93 84 86 131 86 6 83 179 79 1,772
Sandwell 78 3,367 84 1,088 83 367 100 13 76 276 74 1,532
Sefton 81 2,356 91 32 91 10 100 3 82 49 81 2,237
Sheffield 74 4,511 83 625 78 299 93 26 72 323 73 3,075
Shropshire 78 2,291 96 24 40 2 100 6 83 64 78 2,162
Slough 81 1,834 89 964 81 157 100 1 76 161 69 457
Solihull 80 2,119 85 247 83 45 100 6 82 191 78 1,598
Somerset 74 4,137 85 55 90 19 84 16 75 108 74 3,907
South Gloucestershire 79 2,452 90 100 90 46 100 12 83 134 78 2,130
South Tyneside 80 1,297 87 52 90 9 100 2 88 29 80 1,187
Southampton 77 1,995 83 266 85 78 83 10 77 135 76 1,473
Southend-on-Sea 81 1,693 88 128 89 81 75 9 78 101 80 1,336
Southwark 81 2,570 88 154 81 1,146 82 32 79 275 81 742
St. Helens 78 1,595 76 19 64 7 100 5 74 31 78 1,524
Staffordshire 78 7,375 77 300 86 63 92 22 79 241 78 6,690
Stockport 80 2,665 87 200 76 35 89 16 81 158 79 2,209
Stockton-on-Tees 80 1,922 87 104 91 31 91 10 82 45 79 1,719
Stoke-on-Trent 74 2,274 77 375 85 86 94 16 73 111 73 1,658
Suffolk 72 5,581 86 126 77 47 67 6 77 345 72 4,947
Sunderland 80 2,541 85 121 89 24 69 9 82 41 79 2,335
Surrey 82 9,923 88 764 83 159 95 53 84 601 81 8,167
Sutton 86 1,957 95 410 86 154 93 26 86 191 83 1,127
Swindon 79 2,196 90 270 87 77 100 9 78 122 77 1,693
Tameside 78 2,192 82 274 84 52 75 9 83 103 77 1,722
Telford and Wrekin 79 1,766 84 107 76 64 100 7 82 102 79 1,481
Thurrock 79 1,860 88 107 90 332 100 16 81 112 75 1,237
Torbay 73 1,014 81 13 67 2 100 5 80 35 73 950
Tower Hamlets 84 2,719 87 1,795 79 278 95 18 77 158 78 358
Trafford 86 2,513 92 390 84 104 97 37 85 175 85 1,714
Wakefield 74 2,856 79 132 87 41 91 10 86 111 73 2,539
Walsall 77 2,775 85 731 82 152 89 17 81 182 74 1,656
Waltham Forest 82 2,644 84 740 80 511 97 36 86 302 80 960
Wandsworth 82 1,997 87 377 78 468 100 11 80 249 84 815
Warrington 82 2,067 90 64 79 11 67 8 85 58 82 1,907
Warwickshire 79 4,807 91 309 75 63 100 18 82 227 78 4,130
West Berkshire 76 1,348 90 60 75 15 88 7 82 75 75 1,175
West Sussex 76 6,628 87 368 71 100 95 20 83 343 75 5,686
Westminster 87 1,236 91 206 88 213 88 23 88 138 86 313
Wigan 81 2,908 89 49 81 30 83 10 74 60 82 2,727
Wiltshire 76 3,909 90 71 71 42 78 7 80 143 75 3,559
Windsor and Maidenhead 81 1,230 85 198 93 13 86 6 81 102 80 880
Wirral 76 2,846 85 97 82 14 100 17 79 92 75 2,606
Wokingham 83 1,636 95 262 78 51 100 20 81 101 80 1,182
Wolverhampton 81 2,622 87 649 83 340 100 7 79 298 78 1,287
Worcestershire 74 4,577 79 189 69 18 90 9 73 165 73 4,153
York 77 1,466 85 34 92 11 89 8 75 39 77 1,355

* Not applicable

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

Summary

Figures broken down by ethnicity and local authority are often based on small numbers of pupils. As a result, they are likely to change from year to year. The Isle of Scilly had 28 pupils in year 6, and the City of London had 25. Please treat the results for these 2 local authorities with particular caution.

The data shows that:

  • in 2017/18, 90% of pupils in Richmond Upon Thames met the expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling, the highest percentage out of all local authorities
  • 70% of pupils in Isle of Wight met the expected standard, the lowest percentage out of all local authorities

5. Methodology

The key stage 2 datasets combine information from 3 data sources:

  • prior attainment records (key stage 1 results)
  • school census records
  • qualification entries and results collected from awarding bodies

Key stage 2 data received from the Standard Testing Agency (STA) and is matched to school census records to identify pupils’ ethnicities.

Pupils with no valid result for a subject are excluded from the calculations for that subject and are not included in the number of eligible pupils or in the outcome percentages for that subject.

Valid results are:

  • achieved the expected standard
  • not achieved the expected standard
  • special consideration
  • absent
  • working below the standard of the test
  • unable to access the test

The Department for Education no longer suppress the data used in this page.

Rounding

Percentages given in charts, tables and downloads are rounded to the nearest whole number.

Related publications

Schools, pupils and their characteristics: January 2018.

Quality and methodology information

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

Publication release date: 4 June 2019

Updated: 19 September 2019

full page history
  1. Updated to include data broken down by ethnicity and area (local authority).
  2. Updated with the latest available data (for 2017/18).

From: Department for Education

Previous editions:
  1. Edition published on 14 May 2019
  2. Edition published on 5 March 2018
Contents

Share this page