Creating better schools will help to fuel the drive for a successful future

How well I remember the nervousness of the parent as the day approaches. Eight years ago students were not getting the results they needed – shockingly only 28% of students in Hastings and Rye were achieving 5 A*-C grades which included English and Maths at GCSE.

Now that figure is 48%. Schools in Hastings and Rye have been working hard to close the gap with the National and East Sussex average.

The top school this year is St Leonards Academy which achieved 53% of their pupils receiving 5 or more A*-C grade GCSEs (including English and Maths).

Even with the introduction of a more rigorous exam scheme, they have continued to improve each year.

It is vital that our schools and teachers enable pupils to achieve the results they deserve.

Education should open up doors for young people, allow them to develop their own talents and give them the skills they need to succeed.

So the improvements in standards need to be made right from the very beginning of the process; we need to focus just as much on our primary schools as on our secondaries.

Changes are already being made, there are now four Primary Academies delivering a better education, and 20 schools have already been rated Good or Outstanding, nearly double the number there were four years ago.

Businesses I talk to have the same message: they have jobs to offer but they need people with the right skills.

The way to the full employment we want is to ensure better education to prepare our young people for successful lives.

Of course, there is always more to do – we must continue to recruit the best teachers, continue to give schools the freedom to respond to the local needs, continue to invest in the environment pupils are learning in – but Hastings and Rye’s schools are now in a better position to compete and I would like to think that this might make the summer months less nail biting.