DUDLEY has been named the worst area for schooling in the West Midlands, with 18 per cent of schools inspected failing to meet Ofsted expectations, new research has revealed.

Research by Theknowledgeacademy.com has considered official Ofsted reports, released at the end of September, to reveal the state of schools across the region and which parts of England have the most highly rated schools.

Ofsted data from August 2017 showed 2,274 (11 per cent) of schools across the country were deemed inadequate or requiring improvement.

In the West Midlands, 2,313 schools were inspected and 289 institutions (12 per cent) were considered inadequate or requiring improvement.

But Dudley was hailed the worst area for schooling in the region - with 18 per cent of schools inspected not living up to Ofsted expectations.

Thirteen per cent of schools in the borough were rated outstanding, 69 per cent were marked as good, while 14 per cent were listed as requiring improvement and four per cent were rated inadequate.

Councillor Anne Millward, Dudley's cabinet member for children's services, said curriculum changes last year and new benchmarking meant schools which had done better than the year before suddenly found themselves not hitting the latest targets.

She added: "This happened at the school where I am a governor and was upsetting for staff, governors and pupils alike, where real improvement and results had been achieved."

Cllr Millward said the borough has a "steady increase in the number of schools that are improving and doing well and where there is a concern raised by Ofsted we work with the schools via our school improvement team".

Shropshire was named the area in the region with the most outstanding and good schools.