As a former student, and daughter of a headmaster of a Doncaster school, Rosie puts a premium on education. She believes education is the best policy for a successful economy and a fair society and as a Member of Parliament has supported the introduction of a minimum wage for 16 and 17 year olds, child tax credits and increases in child benefit.
Investment per pupil - Over the past 10 years, there have been record levels of investment per pupil in Doncaster with an increase from £3,010 in 1997-98 to £4,370 in 2007-08; a real increase of £1,360 per pupil.
GCSE Attainment - This increased investment has led to significant increases in the levels of attainment of Doncaster students. The number of students achieving 5 or more A* - C grades at GCSE has risen from 39.7% to 61.2% while the number of students leaving school with no GSCEs has fallen from 11% to 2.7%.
Apprenticeships - The number of young people in Doncaster entering and completing apprenticeships schemes has increased dramatically with 830 apprecntice completions across Doncaster in 2005/06.
Nevertheless, despite these improvements there are still problems in some areas of Doncaster, particularly regarding the number of young people going into higher education. Rosie is working with Doncaster College to try and promote the benefits of higher education and higher education alternatives to Doncaster's young people.
