The 500,000 11-year-olds who can’t read or write

HALF-a-million 11-year-olds have left primary school unable to read and write since Labour came to power, figures are expected to show today.

ASSISTANCE Struggling pupils need extra help pic posed by models ASSISTANCE: Struggling pupils need extra help /pic posed by models

Last year’s total put the number moving on to secondary school with no useful literacy skills at 465,000 since 1997.

But that figure is almost certain to climb to more than 500,000 when SATs results for 2009 are published today.

Experts say that when children fall that badly behind they are destined to fail at secondary school, leaving education at 16 with no worthwhile qualifications.

Liberal Democrat schools spokes­man David Laws said it was time for smaller classes and more cash for education.

He said: “It is shocking that under Labour, nearly half a million children have so far left primary school unable to read and write. These children are far more likely to fall further behind and be turned off education altogether. Only 8,000 children have this year benefited from the Reading Recovery programme, even though it has proven to be very successful in supporting children struggling with reading from an early age.

“Ministers need to cut class sizes and ensure schools receive additional funding so teachers can give struggling children the extra support they desperately need.”

The percentage of 11-year-olds not able to read and write has remained stable at six or seven per cent since 1997 despite vast sums being poured into innovations such as the literacy hour.

Last year’s SATs revealed that problems start early in schooling.

The results revealed thousands of seven-year-olds still failing to grasp basic reading, writing and maths skills.

One in five pupils still fails to attain the basic literacy levels, while one in 10 cannot perform simple sums expected of their age.

This is the third year in succession that results show “three Rs” standards in primary school pupils have stalled.

Meanwhile, older pupils were yesterday warned by MPs to choose their university courses wisely amid fears that nonsense degrees would hurt them in the race for good jobs.

The Commons universities committee said too many students on courses such as English literature end up unemployed because firms do not rate their qualifications, the Commons universities committee said.

Evidence suggests that men with English degrees – unless from excellent universities – do worse in salary terms than those who didn’t go to university.

Committee chairman Phil Willis said students had to make better choices.

And he said universities had failed to tackle fears that courses had been dumbed down, or counter the belief that a first-class degree from a former polytechnic was worth the same as one from Cambridge.

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