I recently wrote on my blog about GCSE school league tables and the equivalent boost.
I analysed 3,019 mainstream secondary schools in England to see how their use of equivalents boosted their scores in some metrics and used a quadratic regression model based on the prior attainment metric of key stage 2 average points score (KS2APS) at entry to see how much value schools added with and without equivalents.
Today I’m going to look at how much value schools add to the percentage of pupils achieving 5 grades A* to C, including English and Maths, in GCSE and equivalents (TTAPSCP), and in GCSE only (TTAPSGCP), and pick out the top 10 mainstream secondary schools in England by value added on the latter measure.
It’s easy for a selective school whose intake has high prior attainment to achieve high percentages in 5 grades A*-C at GCSE including English and Maths. The schools in this list are achieving unexpectedly high percentages despite having lower average KS2APS intake.
It’s also easy for a school to boost the percentage achieving 5 grade A*-C by using equivalents rather than GCSEs. The schools in this list are achieving those higher percentages in GCSE only.
The top 10 schools in this list are achieving remarkable academic results against the odds.
| School Name |
Type |
KS2 APS |
5 A*-C including English & Maths |
| Raw Data |
Campbell Value Added |
| GCSE+ Equivalent |
GCSE Only |
GCSE+ Equivalent |
GCSE Only |
| Tauheedul Islam Girls High School |
VA
|
27.5
|
96%
|
96%
|
37%
|
45%
|
| Aston Manor Academy |
ACC
|
24.8
|
64%
|
59%
|
25%
|
38%
|
| Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Secondary School |
VA
|
27.5
|
90%
|
88%
|
31%
|
37%
|
| Wembley High Technology College |
ACC
|
27.2
|
92%
|
84%
|
35%
|
36%
|
| St Thomas More Catholic School |
VA
|
25.4
|
91%
|
62%
|
48%
|
34%
|
| Harris Academy Chafford Hundred |
ACC
|
27.7
|
93%
|
87%
|
33%
|
34%
|
| Mossbourne Community Academy |
AC
|
27.2
|
84%
|
81%
|
27%
|
33%
|
| Paddington Academy |
AC
|
26.2
|
76%
|
70%
|
27%
|
33%
|
| Greenford High School |
FD
|
26.8
|
81%
|
76%
|
28%
|
32%
|
| Park View School the Academy of Maths and Science |
ACC
|
25.9
|
75%
|
66%
|
28%
|
32%
|
Schools Minister, David Laws, praised Wembley High Technology College and Harris Academy Chafford Hundred for precisely these results.
http://www.kilburntimes.co.uk/news/schools_2_4502/education_minister_david_laws_mp_praises_wembley_high_school_for_its_gcse_results_1_3283253
http://www.yourthurrock.com/2013/09/24/schools-minister-congratulates-harris-academy-chafford/
Education Minister, Michael Gove, praised Mossbourne Community Academy and ‘miracle worker’ Sir Michael Wilshaw.
http://www.eastlondonlines.co.uk/2011/10/michael-wilshaw-miracle-worker-of-mossbourne/
Neither Wilshaw’s Catholic faith, nor the Catholic affiliation of Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Secondary School and St Thomas More Catholic School seem to be a problem.
Tauheedul Islam Girls High School and Park View School, on the other hand, appear to have to endure Islamophobic hysteria instead of ministerial praise.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/tauheedul-islam-girls-high-blackburn-2465895
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2437198/Wear-hijabs-class-Pupils-state-Islam-school-forced-cover-Muslim-headscarf.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/10716855/Government-intervenes-at-school-taken-over-by-Muslim-radicals.html
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/park-view-school–ofsted-6858379
As a secular humanist, I’d rather schools didn’t have any religious affiliation, and I note, quite clearly, that Park View School doesn’t have any declared religious affiliation, Muslim or otherwise.
If the apparatus of state is going to intervene in schools on grounds of religion, achievement, quality, behaviour and safety, or leadership and management, it had better do so transparently and consistently.
I look forward, with sceptical interest, to reading Ofsted’s findings, following their recent visit Park View School, in detail. If Ofsted recommends any intervention, they’d better have a very good reason for it, given the praise heaped on Park View School’s high-performing peers.
Martin Campbell 