SOUTHEND Council has praised the strong statistics for education in the borough.

The Echo reported yesterday that in its annual report, Ofsted ranked the borough as the highest percentage of outstanding primary schools in the East of England at 94 per cent.

Anne Jones, cabinet member for learning, said: “I am delighted that the hard work of the Borough’s teachers, governing bodies, pupils and parents, along with the council is being rewarded and recognised with these excellent results for local primary schools.

“We are committed to supporting schools to deliver high quality education so that every child in the borough can achieve their full potential. To see a rise of six per cent in schools that are judged good or outstanding by Ofsted, in one year, and from 69 per cent in 2014 is testament to the effectiveness of that commitment and support.

“These figures place us as the best performing area within the East of England and higher than the national average for primary school inspection outcomes. It really is fantastic news and we will all continue to work to get that figure up to 100 per cent.”