Is ranking important when choosing a UK secondary school?
Discussion
My son is in year 9 and starting year 10 in September this year. He goes to one of the best performing state secondary schools in the District. We live in the south and thinking about moving up somewhere in the north where it is more affordable for us to rent the property.
The rental price has gone up significantly in our area and the only reason for us to stay here is my son's secondary school.
We have been doing a lot of research in secondary schools and we would like our son to go to a similar school which is producing good results.
The percentage of pupils who achieved grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSEs in the current school is 70% at the moment which is way above the national average.
As per the recent school performance report, my son's KS4 grade range is 6-7.
Does rank or grading percentage matter when picking up a secondary school?
The rental price has gone up significantly in our area and the only reason for us to stay here is my son's secondary school.
We have been doing a lot of research in secondary schools and we would like our son to go to a similar school which is producing good results.
The percentage of pupils who achieved grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSEs in the current school is 70% at the moment which is way above the national average.
As per the recent school performance report, my son's KS4 grade range is 6-7.
Does rank or grading percentage matter when picking up a secondary school?
Absolute exam results mean little, especially for secondary schools, because there is too much dependence on things outside the schools' control such as the intellectual quality of their intake; the academic-mindedness of the parents of their intake; the quality of the primary schools they draw from; etc. I think OFSTED also attempts to rate schools by how much they improve their students year by year, which is perhaps more useful but still limited.
djones123 said:
My son is in year 9 and starting year 10 in September this year. He goes to one of the best performing state secondary schools in the District. We live in the south and thinking about moving up somewhere in the north where it is more affordable for us to rent the property.
The rental price has gone up significantly in our area and the only reason for us to stay here is my son's secondary school.
We have been doing a lot of research in secondary schools and we would like our son to go to a similar school which is producing good results.
The percentage of pupils who achieved grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSEs in the current school is 70% at the moment which is way above the national average.
As per the recent school performance report, my son's KS4 grade range is 6-7.
Does rank or grading percentage matter when picking up a secondary school?
IME it matters a bit but there are also lots of other factors which affect attainment. For example having parents who play an active part in the child's education, a stable home life, the academic attainments of the parents, the aspirations/ambitions of the child and the parents, a good diet, exercise, extra curricular activities.The rental price has gone up significantly in our area and the only reason for us to stay here is my son's secondary school.
We have been doing a lot of research in secondary schools and we would like our son to go to a similar school which is producing good results.
The percentage of pupils who achieved grade 5 or above in English and maths GCSEs in the current school is 70% at the moment which is way above the national average.
As per the recent school performance report, my son's KS4 grade range is 6-7.
Does rank or grading percentage matter when picking up a secondary school?
may I suggest that the most important aspect is what you as parents do whilst the child is at school. My two have just exited the state system here on the Isle of Wight . Now the schools here are pretty s
t TBH and the outcomes are generally below average. If you put the time in with the kids out of hours and engage with the teachers it makes the world of difference. Mine had private tutor for maths at GCSE total cost no more than £1k. The other key factor is making sure they do all the work. And work outside of the school day. You cannot rely on the system to generate the desired outcome. You need to choose their friends wisely as well. Son picked up A*, A and B and an entry to Loughborough (amongst others). Same school this acedemic year daughter is predicted 3x A and entry to Bath. She could have chosen Durham or Loughborough. Not this unconditional offer bks either.
t TBH and the outcomes are generally below average. If you put the time in with the kids out of hours and engage with the teachers it makes the world of difference. Mine had private tutor for maths at GCSE total cost no more than £1k. The other key factor is making sure they do all the work. And work outside of the school day. You cannot rely on the system to generate the desired outcome. You need to choose their friends wisely as well. Son picked up A*, A and B and an entry to Loughborough (amongst others). Same school this acedemic year daughter is predicted 3x A and entry to Bath. She could have chosen Durham or Loughborough. Not this unconditional offer bks either.kambites said:
Absolute exam results mean little, especially for secondary schools, because there is too much dependence on things outside the schools' control such as the intellectual quality of their intake; the academic-mindedness of the parents of their intake; the quality of the primary schools they draw from; etc. I think OFSTED also attempts to rate schools by how much they improve their students year by year, which is perhaps more useful but still limited.
As above. Use the data cautiosly . Visit the school on a normal school day. You will soon get an idea of how good it is.Visit the schools, make a short list before if needs be.
I visited the three prospective secondary schools my boy could have gone to in the years before he went (Stem Ambassador) if it had been on grade results and a quick walk around he wouldn’t be at the one he has gone to.
Bare in mind rent prices are affected by good schools’ catchment areas and also places might not be available at the one you want to send them to.
Comparing his school and the one I went to (both state but mine is selective) English and maths 98% for mine 46% for his, but attendance rates better at his. Both are rated ‘Excellent’
He is doing well at school and the teachers have a challenge when there is such a spread of ability in class from a non selective system. We encourage him to keep working to the best of his ability when he is a big fish in a little pond so to speak, it would be easy for him to take his foot off the gas. Fortunately he is very competitive (within himself) when it comes to results, poor lad was gutted that the SATS were cancelled in year 6.
I visited the three prospective secondary schools my boy could have gone to in the years before he went (Stem Ambassador) if it had been on grade results and a quick walk around he wouldn’t be at the one he has gone to.
Bare in mind rent prices are affected by good schools’ catchment areas and also places might not be available at the one you want to send them to.
Comparing his school and the one I went to (both state but mine is selective) English and maths 98% for mine 46% for his, but attendance rates better at his. Both are rated ‘Excellent’
He is doing well at school and the teachers have a challenge when there is such a spread of ability in class from a non selective system. We encourage him to keep working to the best of his ability when he is a big fish in a little pond so to speak, it would be easy for him to take his foot off the gas. Fortunately he is very competitive (within himself) when it comes to results, poor lad was gutted that the SATS were cancelled in year 6.
Edited by r159 on Saturday 24th July 16:10
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