Devon School tops national tables for second year running
Colyton Grammer School in East Devon has received the best GCSE results in the country for the second year running according to the latest school league tables.
The news is perhaps no surprise as the school, which only takes in pupils in the top 25% of the abiltity range, has been named as the Sunday Time’s ‘Co—Educational School of the Year’ on no fewer four occasions.
Headteacher Paul Evans said of the school’s success: “Its a magic formula at Colyton; a group of students who are committed and clearly very able, a very hardworking and talented staff that constantly amaze me and parents who are committed and very involved in the school.
“When those three elements come together it’s guaranteed success."
In Exeter, The Maynard School topped the local list with 100% of its pupils achieving 5 A* to C grade at GCSE including English and Maths.
Blundell’s came a close second with 91% of its achieving the grade while 73% of students from Magdalen Court school also passed with 5 A* to C grades.
All three of these schools entered less than 100 pupils into the GCSE exams, with Magdalen Court entering only 15 pupils into the exams.
The larger schools in Exeter St Peters which entered 247 students into GCSEs last year saw 68% of them achieve an A* to C grade, while West Exe which entered 260 pupils saw 65% pass to this level.
This roughly equates to 168 from St Peters and 169 from West Exe students passing 5 with A* to C grades including English and Maths.
St Luke’s which entered 193 students saw 58% pass with 5 A* to C grades including English and Maths.
7,729 pupils from Devon entered GCSE exams while a little under 60% passed with A* to C grades including English and Maths.
The league tables also reveal that GCSE pass rates are improving nationwide with more schools achieving the government’s baseline than previous years.
Schools are considered below the baseline if fewer than 40% of their pupils achieve 5 or more GCSEs, including English and Maths, at a C grade or higher.
The government raised the floor from 35% for last year’s performance tables.
Only 154 state-funded schools across the nation failed to meet this baseline, 61 fewer than last year, seeing around 50,000 pupils benefit.
The government claims that had the baseline been in place in 2010 more than 400 schools would have been below this line.
Education Secretary Michael Gove said: “These figures are a credit to the professionalism and hard work of teachers.
“Thanks to their efforts, the number of children taught in underperforming schools has fallen by almost 250,000 since 2010.
“This progress has been achieved at the same time as our EBacc has ensured many more young people are taking the core subjects which will most help them find a good job or go on to university.”
The English Baccalaureate or EBacc is a measure of how many pupils are achieving pass grades above a C in subjects the government consider to be core.
The EBacc subjects are English, Maths, a second language, two science subjects and either history or geography.
As a national average, six out of 10 pupils achieved five good GCSEs (A* to C grades) including maths and English - the minimum level expected by the government.
The figures are from qualifications taken by students last summer.
Performance data for more than 4,000 state and independent schools has been released by the government in England.
