NEARLY 90% of Somerset’s primary schools are now rated at least “good” by Ofsted, with 70% of the county’s secondaries getting a good or better verdict.

A report which went before Somerset County Council’s scrutiny committee today revealed 87% of primary schools were judged good or above in 2014, up from 67% in 2012, and above the national average of 80%.

The number of secondary schools achieving at least a good rating rose from 63% last year to 70%.

Somerset now ranks 34th out of 150 local authorities for its primary schools, compared to 65th in 2013, and 78th out of 150 for secondary schools, compared to 108th in 2013.

Cllr Frances Nicholson, cabinet member for children and families, said: “These figures show that Somerset’s primary and secondary schools are headed in the right direction.

“I am pleased that more of Somerset’s youngsters are achieving nationally-set targets in their education, and many others exceeding those expectations.

“With Somerset County Council’s clear commitment to improving Somerset’s school performances, and GCSE results in particular, the future described by these improvements looks more promising for education in the county.”

A report also showed that 61% of Somerset’s five-year-olds reached “a good level of development” in 2014, up from 53% in 2013, and that more seven year-olds are hitting national targets for reading (91%), writing (88%) and maths (93%).

Among 11-year-olds, 78% are achieving national targets for reading, writing and maths.

However, the council is predicting a slight fall in the number of 16-year-olds achieving five or more A* to C GCSE grades in Somerset, which it says is in line with a national trend.