Help me - who understands school leauge tables?

[Ray Singh]

I am looking to move house as the current catchment area secondary schools are pretty nasty.
I have identified two potential schools and before taking a massive mortgage on a house, I would like to know for sure that the schools I plan for my children to attend, are actually performing well.

I have looked at various school league tables and cannot make head nor tail of them. Some feature one school and not the other, some focus on only GCSE and some on A level....

So I am looking for an answer to which is better....

The two schools in contention are: (1) St John's School Marlborough and (2) Faringdon community college in Oxfordshire.

Can anyone help as i am sick of value added and avg score per pupil......

[zaphod42]

Without looking at the stats, I'd be cautious about going on just the league tables. Schools decline as well as rise, so taking a trend would be a fairer analysis.

But more pragmatically, had you thought about emailing/calling one of the school governors and having a chat? You'll learn more about the ethos and direction. Even if one produces better grades, there are many things that stats miss - soft skills, wider experiences (eg, trips, community, DoE, etc) - all of which are looked for by employers / unis.

Also, and I'm sure you are, had you thought about taking the kids to the schools and letting them make the decision? Might be worth a chat with the school about their approach to kids who have just moved to the region and how they support integration?

Just some thoughts - basic thought is look past the league tables and have them in the mix for the decision, but not the decider.

[Bluebarge]

Have a look at the Ofsted reports - that will tell you more than league tables. If the Head has changed since the date of the Ofsted report, bin the report as the school may well have changed massively, for better or worse. Head teachers make or break schools.

[Countdown]

Bluebarge said:

Have a look at the Ofsted reports - that will tell you more than league tables. If the Head has changed since the date of the Ofsted report, bin the report as the school may well have changed massively, for better or worse. Head teachers make or break schools.

Yes and no. Certain HTs are very good at manipulating OfSted reports by saying the right things. League tables are as good as any other indicator - I would be looking for sustained high performance over a period of time (rather than a sudden improvement).

[cuneus]

Bluebarge said:

Have a look at the Ofsted reports - that will tell you more than league tables. If the Head has changed since the date of the Ofsted report, bin the report as the school may well have changed massively, for better or worse. Head teachers make or break schools.

Do not even bother with the Ofsted reports (have you read the criteria by which schools are judged?)

I speak from bitter experience