Pupil Achievement at Leighton Middle School

Social as well as academic well-being is crucial in order to create a happy school where pupils feel they can achieve their best. To this end we arrange for you to have an early consultation evening with your child’s Form Tutor. We encourage further informal contacts as and when necessary to maintain this important link with parents.

Each subject department has a system of assessments that provides evidence for each pupil’s achievements in the National Curriculum. We summarise these assessments in reports to parents in October, January and July. You will have an opportunity to meet your child’s mentor to discuss progress and ways to support your child’s learning at two points during the year.

Pupils achieve high standards and make good progress in the four years that they attend Leighton Middle School.  Many pupils leave Leighton Middle School achieving levels which are above national expectations for Year 8 pupils.

Assessments across the school

Across the school there are 4 main assessment points in Key Stage 2 and there are 3 assessment points in Key Stage 3. Below is a breakdown of the assessments that take place.

Year 5 Assessments

• September = GL assessments* and internal baseline tests (all subjects)
• December = Internal assessments or teacher assessments (all subjects)
• March = Internal assessments or teacher assessments (all subjects)
• May/June = GL assessments and internal end of Year assessments (all subjects)

Year 6 Assessments

• September = internal assessments in Reading, Writing, SPAG and Mathematics
• December = Internal assessments or teacher assessments (all subjects)
• March = Internal assessments or teacher assessments (all subjects)
• May/June = GL assessments, end of year assessments and SATs examinations

Year 7 and 8 Assessments

• December = Internal assessments or teacher assessments (all subjects)
• March = Internal assessments or teacher assessments (all subjects)
• May/June = GL assessments and end of Year assessments (all subjects – in Year 8 this information will be passed on to Upper Schools)

English, maths and assessment evening 2024 video

What are the KS2 SATS

SATs are standardised assessment tests administered by primary schools in England to children in Year 2 and Year 6 to check their educational progress. They are one marker used by the government, and hence parents, of the quality of the education at a school. The setting and marking of SATs are carried out in UK schools by the Standards & Testing Agency.

In 2026 the SATS will take place from Monday 11^th May until Thursday 14^th May.

• Monday 11th May: English grammar, punctuation and spelling (GPS) papers 1 (questions) and 2 (spelling)
• Tuesday 12th May: English reading paper
• Wednesday 13th May: mathematics papers 1 (arithmetic) and 2 (reasoning)
• Thursday 14th May: mathematics paper 3 (reasoning

We ask that there are no holidays booked during this time. 

External assessments

Upon entry all pupils complete standardised assessments called Progress in Maths and Progress in English tests. These assessments allow the school to understand the starting points of each pupil, know their areas of strength and the areas that need developing. Further standardised assessments are then then taken at the end of each academic year allowing pupils and teachers to see the progress that each pupil has made. Along with internal assessments these are also used to organise Maths and English groups in Year 5 and Year 6.

Academic performance KS2

  * Some National Data is provisional at this point

 Average Scaled Score 

 The table below shows the average scaled scores in the SATs since 2022/23

 * Some National Data is provisional at this point  

KS1 - KS2 Progress measure

Year 8 Exit Data 2025