How many Shropshire students go to top-rated schools, according to latest figures?

The figures come as the Ofsted system faces criticism, with the Association of School and College Leaders warning schools deemed to be failing are destined to lose out on much-needed funds.

The Department for Education data shows 18.68 per cent of the 28,948 children in Telford & Wrekin and 8.55 per cent of the 41,061 children in Shropshire attended schools rated 'outstanding' by Ofsted in 2021-22.

Pupils in Shropshire were also slightly more likely to be attending a school rated 'inadequate'.

There were 826 pupils (2.85 per cent) in Telford & Wrekin and 185 pupils (2.89 per cent) in Shropshire attending schools rated 'inadequate', Ofsted's lowest score.

When a school is judged to be inadequate it is placed in a 'category of concern', and will be required to become a sponsored academy, with another local school trust.

Ofsted inspectors visit every primary and secondary school about every four years for an inspection, and will give it one of four possible ratings – outstanding, good, requires improvement or inadequate.

A higher proportion of Shropshire pupils were attending 'good schools', at 80.24 per cent compared to Telford & Wrekin's 61.16 per cent.

17.31 per cent of students were at schools deemed to require improvement in Telford & Wrekin, compared to 8.33 per cent in Shropshire.

Across England, 18 per cent of pupils attended outstanding schools in the same year, putting Telford & Wrekin slightly above the average.

Meanwhile, 69 per cent were at good schools, 10 per cent at ones that require improvement, and 2 per cent at inadequate schools. 1 per cent of children attended schools that had not yet been rated by Ofsted.

Some schools may have been inspected by Ofsted or re-evaluated since this data was collected.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the current Ofsted system led to the "ridiculous" situation where property prices are affected by a school's result, making it harder for poorer families to live near the best schools.

Mr Barton said: “We all want great schools for our children. The question is how we achieve that objective and the problem with the current system is that Ofsted ratings are simply counter-productive.

"Once you are deemed ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’ it’s the devil’s own job to escape that category because it’s harder to recruit staff and your pupil roll – and hence funding – falls."

"The system has to change so that inspection outcomes are more nuanced, supportive and genuinely aid improvement where it is needed," he added.

A Department for Education spokesperson said the Government has invested £14 billion to help local authorities create 1.2 million new school places since 2010.

They said: “Parents rightly want to know how their child’s school is doing and I fully support our approach to providing a clear one-word rating to inform their decisions.

"Ofsted has been central to our success in driving up school standards, with 88 per cent of our schools now rated good or outstanding - up from 68 per cent when this Government came into office.”