15/01/2004

GCSE results continue to show improvement

Today's GCSE/GNVQ performance tables have revealed that specialist schools outperformed non-specialist schools and schools facing challenging circumstances improved at double the national rate, the government claimed today.

According to today's tables, the overall percentage of pupils receiving good grades at GCSE has improved – a 1.3 percentage point increase to 52.9% of pupils gaining five or more grades A*-C. But in specialist schools 56.7% of pupils achieved five good grades compared to 49.2% in non specialist.

The number of LEAs failing to reach the 38% target for pupils achieving five good grades has fallen from 18 in 2002 to eight in 2003, it was revealed. And the percentage of pupils achieving no passes dropped again this year to 5.2%.

The results also showed that the Sir John Cass Foundation and Redcoat Church of England Secondary School in East London was the most improved school between 2000 and 2003.

School Standards Minister David Miliband said: "The GCSE/GNVQ results show that we are making steady upward progress in the numbers gaining five or more passes at grades A* to C.

"I am particularly pleased that those schools facing some of the toughest education challenges in the country have improved at double this rate. There are now 114 schools gaining less than 20% five good GCSEs compared to 361 in 1997."

(gmcg)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

29 January 2004
More schools gained 'specialist' status
More than half of all secondary schools have now gained specialist status, School Standards Minister David Miliband has announced.
27 June 2003
Ofsted report notes improved school leadership
The proportion of headteachers providing excellent leadership and management in schools has doubled over the last five years, according to a new Office for Standards in Education report published today.
16 February 2005
Specialist schools improving faster than other schools
Specialist schools are performing better than other schools in England, a report by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) has reported. The education watchdog found that pupils in specialist schools have performed better at GCSEs since 1998 and the rate of improvement in GCSE results was also faster in these schools.
01 July 2004
More schools attain specialist status
Nearly 2,000 secondary schools have now attained specialist status following the largest round of designations yet. Specialist status allows a school to extend the range of opportunities available to students which best meet their needs and interests. Exam results show that specialist schools do better on average than non-specialists - in 2003, 56.
01 March 2005
Gang culture 'widespread', schools report finds
Gang culture is 'perceived to be widespread' in England's schools, a report by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) has found. The education watchdog said that one in five of the secondary schools visited reported that problems with gangs were perceived although few schools had firm evidence of it.