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Best-ever GCSE and A-level results for Peterborough pupils but city still struggling in national tables
Kings School pupils Benjamin Mace, Shivani Pankhania, Amy Van Dongen and Timur Ozmen, with headteacher Gary Longman after the school was been rated in the top 200 in the country for its GCSE results. (METP-25-01-12AS009). Photo: Alan Storer/Peterborough ET
HIGH-achieving pupils have helped Peterborough towards its best GCSE exam results but the city remains stuck in the bottom 10 per cent of the national league table.
Peterborough has climbed three places to 139th out of 151 local authorities in the latest GCSE league tables, published today.
The proportion of pupils achieving five or more A* to C grade GCSEs, including maths and English, now stands at 49.4 per cent, after climbing more than three per cent from 2010’s figure of 46 per cent.
It followed a five per cent rise from 41 per cent on the previous year.
It undoes a fall of two in the rankings suffered last year and is the third consecutive record-breaking set of results for the authority.
Cllr John Holdich, cabinet member for education, skills and university at Peterborough City Council, said the authority was moving in “the right direction”, but admitted it was “disappointing” to remain towards the foot of the table.
He said: “We all have aspirations for our position to be higher, but to be better three years on a trot has got to be an achievement.”
He pointed to the impact of bringing in outside expertise through the establishment of academies in the Peterborough area, for the rise in results in the GCSE exams, as well as the influence of the council’s school improvement team.
Cllr Holdich said he hopes the authority can build on the figure of 49.4 per cent.
He added: “Our ambition is to be higher than that. This was a five year process. This is the third year of it. Hopefully, we shall be above average within five years.”
Shailesh Vara, MP for North West Cambridgeshire, echoed Cllr Holdich’s comments.
He said: “It’s good that the results continue to improve and this trend for the past three years has to be welcomed. However, it’s important that we do not ease up on our efforts because we remain in the bottom 10 per cent of local authorities for results and that still leaves a lot of room for further progress and improvement.”
Among the top 200 performers in the country was The King’s School, in Park Road. Headteacher Gary Longman said: “I’m sure our youngsters will be delighted and it’s a great boost to them when they hear information like that.
“It’s a lot of hard work on their part and the part of staff and parents. It’s very much a team effort with everyone playing their part.”
Mr Longman put credited strong self-motivation among pupils in the success.
He said: “A lot of it is setting high standards and youngsters aspiring to that and driving themselves forward.”
The Voyager Academy, in Mountsteven Avenue, remained in the bottom 200, however.
No one at the academy was available for comment yesterday, but Cllr Holdich said the authority was working with governors to increase standards and believed the influence of Cambridge’s Comberton Village College as part of its newly acquired academy status would also help to bring further improvement.
“I’m sure we will see better results,” Cllr Holdich added.
Mixed fortunes among city schools in league tables
VOYAGER School came in the bottom 200 performing schools in England for GCSEs for a second year in a row.
This is despite the school, which became Voyager Academy in September, seeing an increase in the number of pupils achieving the Government benchmark of at least five A* to C grades including English and maths from 24 per cent in August 2010 to 32 per cent in August 2011.
However, some school leaders in Peterborough have spoken of their delight after achieving success in the exams.
In 2010, St John Fisher Catholic School, in Park Lane, was among the bottom 200 performers in England.
It has now, however, moved out of this bracket with the amount of pupils achieving the Government benchmark increasing from 31 per cent to 39 per cent.
Headteacher Sean Hayes said: “We are really pleased. It rewards all the hard work of the students and the staff. We had a really good year group and they really knuckled down and did what they needed to do to achieve.”
For the past three years the school has been benefiting from the Government’s National Challenge programme, which aims to support secondary schools which fall below targets.
The proportion of pupils achieving at least five A* to C GCSEs, including maths and English, is now more than double what it was three years ago, when it was at 18 per cent.
Arthur Mellows Village College, in Glinton, had one of the most improved ratings in the country with the proportion of pupils achieving five or more A* to C GCSE grades, including maths and English climbing 22 per cent to 72 per cent.
Ken Stimpson Community School, in Staniland Way, Werrington, maintained its rating of 54 per cent for its A* to C grades, including maths and English, but saw its figure for A* to C grades overall climb to 83 per cent – compared to 51 per cent in 2009.
Principal Richard Lord said: “It hopefully validates what we are doing which is helping the students achieve.”
A closer look at the league tables
AT THE top of the latest GCSE league tables is the London Borough of Sutton, where 74.7 per cent of pupils achieved at least five A* to C grades including maths and English.
Cambridgeshire had a figure of 59.2 per cent, while the proportion achieving the benchmark in Lincolnshire was higher still on 62.2 per cent.
Peterborough achieved the same figure as Sheffield and Islington – 49.4 per cent.
Below Peterborough was the Isle of Wight (49.1%), Stoke-on-Trent (48.2%), Bradford (47.5%), the City of Nottingham (46.7%), the City of Kingston-upon-Hull (46.3%), Blackpool (46.2%), Portsmouth (45.5%), Barnsley (44.4%), Middlesbrough (40.9%) and Knowsley (40.8%), while the City of London is not counted.
In terms of the local authority’s average points score per pupil at GCSE or equivalent, Peterborough fared better, coming 133rd out of the 151 local authorities on 648.5.
What do you think of the results?
Contact our news team by email news@peterboroughtoday.co.uk, telephone 01733 588719, on Twitter - @peterboroughet or use our Have Your Say form
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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Ken Tucky
Thursday, January 26, 2012 at 10:08 PMThese results clearly show that throwing millions of pounds building new stateof the art faciltiies has no significant effect on academic results whatsoever. What really matters is student ability and engagement, parental support, quality inspiring teachers and strong leadership.
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