Just wanted to say that I know several children who have done or are doing their A levels at some of the aforementioned independent schools who did not get A* at GCSE in the subject they are now studying....just saying.

I don't think all the independents are as cut-throat as some are making them out to be.

I do agree that sending your child to a private school in order to get them higher grades than they would at a good state school is probably a waste of time and money.

But in my experience most people choosing independent schooling are not doing so just to improve their child's grades.

rooting4tooting wrote:Most independant schools select and as such many will not let a pupil take an exam they aren't going to do well in. This is the nature of the beast.

Fortunately this isn't even remote true.

Clapham and Streatham high -

So to recap - nearly 25% reached A* in every A level subject they sat.

breakdown:
I/GCSE: A*/A - 71.6% (A* 39.2%) Pass rate: 100% (2015)

A Level: A*/A 47.7% A*/B 75% Pass rate 100% (2015) - See more at: http://www.schs.gdst.net/2287/informati ... cYP1K.dpuf

Most independant schools select and as such many will not let a pupil take an exam they aren't going to do well in. This is the nature of the beast.

At least one of those schools mentioned in the original post make pupils drop subjects if they achieve below a grade C at the end of first year 6th form. These percentages are thoroughly engineered.

Ernest Bevin College

2015 Results
http://www.ernestbevin.org.uk/home/exam ... sults-2015

Headline figures

A Levels
21% A*-A
63% A*-C
(63 students in total)

Level 3 BTECs
63% Disctinction*-Distinction
94% pass rate
(92 students)

Total off to university about 130 this year including many onto engineering courses etc from the BTEC route

GCSES
55% A*-C including English and Maths
28% EBACC

Biggest improvement this year has been the number of students at Bevin getting the highest grades, in some subjects it is nearly half of those taking the subject eg GCSE computing.

Well as I said its centrally measured against ALIS for one thing

Is it easy to calculate? How do they do this?

Wheresmyschool? wrote:Value add is a much better yardstick but very hard to measure.

It's really not. All schools have chapter and verse on this, but naturally some are reluctant to share. You should always ask and not be put off

They have it, it's centrally and independently calculated so it's not nsnipulatable either.

I wonder what meaning people think can be taken from these results?

Is the expectation that if my child goes to XYZ he/she is more likely to get an A? In truth what it means is that if your child is not an A/A* calibre pupil they will not be admitted.

If you want some real insight ask to see the value add data, based on ALIS. Which is the nationally standardised expected result. The most ambitious schools, can hope for no more than ALIS +1

The best schools will not make little billy into something he is not

Hi
Putney High from the Guardian

http://www.wandsworthguardian.co.uk/new ... 5_results/

<starts>

The wait was over for thousands of anxious people with the release of 2015’s GCSE results.

Putney High School 87.3 per cent of all entries at Putney High School achieved A or A* grades, which was a 0.8 per cent increase on last year.

Their overall A* to C pass rate was 99.7 per cent; a fraction less than the 100 per cent pass rate last year.

<ends>

From today's Telegraph

Analysis of A-level results shows fee-paying students were outclassed by top performing state schools in league tables

Leading state schools now perform better in exam league tables than private schools, analysis has suggested.

Research based on official Department for Education figures found that England's best 500 state schools are outperforming the top 500 private schools.

The analysis shows that the average points per pupil is higher at state than at fee-paying schools. The figures were disclosed as GCSE results fell for the fourth consecutive year, with the Government continuing its fight against grade inflation.


The evidence that the best state schools are outperforming private schools is expected to be seized upon by the Government.

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During his time as Education Secretary, Michael Gove said that standards in state schools should be "so high" that they were indistinguishable from Eton or Harrow.

A senior source said: "We think the data is hugely welcomed and we think that it vindicates that our reforms are working and the next step should be to turbo-charge those reforms. It used to be that the state sector could learn from the private sector and now it is the other way around."

Each January, the Government releases a full breakdown of A-level results for each school.

• GCSEs 'a waste of time', says former schools chief inspector
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"I myself am not surprised. Teachers in state schools are becoming more effective all the time and they are becoming effective at preparing pupils at important qualifications"
Barnaby Lenon, chairman of the Independent Schools Council
Based on the analysis of the government figures, The Telegraph found that the top 1 per cent of state schools, or 21 schools, achieve better results than 98 per cent of private schools, or 512 schools.

When the point score per pupil is analysed, the top 500 state schools average 883 points while the top 500 independent schools is 845. On this measure, only four of the leading 20 schools in the country are private.

The top-performing state school was Colchester Royal Grammar School, which scored 1430.1 points per pupil.

Eton scored 1004.5 while Harrow scored 1004.8. Grey Coat Hospital, the state school where the Prime Minister sends his daughter, had a score of 807.7.

Less well-known state schools also performed well. Mossbourne Academy, formerly known as the Hackney Downs school in east London, scored 809.4.


New analysis showed that on average state schools outperform private schools ALAMY

Barnaby Lenon, chairman of the Independent Schools Council, which represents 85 per cent of private schools in the country, said the comparison was unfair.

Mr Lenon said: "To compare every independent school in the UK (there are only about 500 that take A-levels) with the top 500 state schools is grossly unfair." He said it is "a reasonable point that the best state schools get very good results", but it is the "top 30 per cent of state and independent schools" that should be compared.

"Any parent comparing the independent and state league tables can see the top 200 independent schools outperform most state schools," he added. Mary Bousted, general secretary at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, said: "For many people these will be surprising results.

But I myself am not surprised. Teachers in state schools are becoming more effective all the time and they are becoming effective at preparing pupils at important qualifications."

good points from all, but schooling with likeminded students does help. Fewer negagtive distractions and a more competitive atmosphere does focus the mind.

Value add is a much better yardstick but very hard to measure.

I do think the grades are important, often for how a school positions itself more than anything, but they are not the be all and end all

I am in the process of going to lots of open days (YAWN!!!) and one of the headmistresses at one of the schools in her opening speech wisely told us not to look at all these Stats and that if we had an A* child, he / she will probably get A* at most of the schools in the area.

I would tend to agree with this - I am frankly more interested in finding out what these schools do to encourage the B / C students and to make sure these students reach their maximum potential whatever this may be.