Despite standards warnings, most parents 'happy' with Welsh education

In a survey published today, 9 in 10 parents said they were satisfied with their children's primary school.  Close to the same number are happy with their child's secondary school education, at 88 per cent.

This is despite the Welsh education system being ranked as the worst of the four home nations in 2010.

The findings form part of a new annual investigation of life in Wales. It is a wide-ranging study into what Welsh citizens think about public services, their quality of life and their finances.

Interviews are held face-to-face with 14,500 members of the public to collect the data.

A government spokesperson said, "It is pleasing the results show people are extremely satisfied with services delivered by schools. We are committed to making sure our decisions and actions take into account the views of people across Wales.”

"Only by listening to the people of Wales in this open and robust way can we address areas where people express more concern," he added.

Positive feedback to the survey came in spite of the number of GCSE entries graded A* to C falling for the first time in a decade.

Additionally, the worldwide Pisa assessments of 2010 ranked Wales as the poorest performing country in the UK.

Education Minister Leighton Andrews at the time called these results "unacceptable" and said that everyone involved should be "alarmed".

There has also been a major row between the Welsh and UK governments over GCSEs, with the Westminster coalition criticising Mr Andrews' decision to demand that English exams be re-marked.

With these concerns, parents still gave an overall average score of 6.5 out of 10 to the state of education in Wales.