League tables : Schools outside Newark outperform those in town

Secondary schools outside Newark have continued to perform better than those in the town based on the amount of progress made by their pupils.

Validated school league tables have been published that rank schools based on the progress made by pupils and also by their GCSE exam results.

They have been updated from when they were first published in October of last year to take into account exams that have been re-marked or re-sat.

However, results at schools in the Newark area have changed little compared to the provisional league tables that were published in October.

Tuxford Academy was one of the best performing schools in Nottinghamshire based on its Progress 8 score, a Government measure that looks at the progress of pupils at secondary school.

It had a score of 0.45, up from a provisional score of 0.44, which placed it sixth in the league table of 74 secondary schools and academies in Nottinghamshire, excluding those in Nottingham.

Magnus Church of England Academy, Newark, was 37th with a score of -0.36, up from -0.37, and Newark Academy was 40th with -0.4, up from -0.46.

All schools in the Advertiser area were above the Government's floor standard of -0.5.

Of the 74 schools measured, 19 of which were special schools catering for children with special needs.

A Progress 8 score above zero means a school's pupils made more progress, on average, than those across England who achieved similar results at the end of primary or junior school. A score below zero means pupils in that school made less progress.

A negative score does not mean pupils made no progress or the school has failed. It means they made less progress than others across England with similar results at the end of primary or junior school.

Toot Hill School tenth

Previously, schools were ranked on how many pupils had achieved at least GCSE grade C in five subjects, including English and maths.

Toot Hill School, Bingham, was tenth with a score of 0.29, up from a provisional score of 0.25, and the Minster School, Southwell, was 19th with an improved score of 0.05, up from zero.

The Dukeries Academy, Ollerton, was 21st with a score of 0.01, up from a provisional score of -0.05, and South Nottinghamshire Academy, Radcliffe, was 36th with a score of -0.33, down from -0.32.

Sir William Robertson Academy, in Welbourn, Lincolnshire, achieved a score of -0.22, down from -0.21.

The average for Nottinghamshire was 0.04 and for state-funded schools in England it was -0.03.

Nottinghamshire County Council’s children and young people’s committee chairman, Mr Philip Owen, said the results put Nottinghamshire in the top third of local authorities.

He said: "It is very encouraging that nearly half of Nottinghamshire students achieved a strong pass at GCSE in English and maths combined, putting the county ahead of the national average.

"It is, however, difficult to make comparisons with the 2016 results as syllabuses and the way grades are awarded have significantly changed."

Mr Owen said the council would continue to monitor the results as schools became accustomed to the new syllabuses and grades to ensure Nottinghamshire pupils were not losing out or being held back.

"When we see the Regional Schools Commissioner next month, we will address issues that have arisen following the 2016/17 results," he said.

“In contrast, the results at A-level and equivalent (Key Stage 5) for schools, academies and colleges across Nottinghamshire continue to be very disappointing and are clearly not acceptable.

“As nearly all of Nottinghamshire’s secondary schools are now academies, they are no longer under our control, but are the direct responsibility of the Department for Education and the Regional Schools Commissioner (RSC) who is responsible for the performance of academies.

“We will work closely with the RSC to see what the issues are and how the schools, academies and colleges can make improvements. Indeed, myself and members of the children and young people’s committee will be meeting with the commissioner in February and underperformance will be top of the agenda.

“It is imperative that some fresh and radical thinking is brought to the issue. We can’t have a situation where underperformance at this stage of a students’ education potentially handicaps their future career options.”

Best-performing school

The top performing school in Nottinghamshire was the Outwood Academy, Portland, which achieved an above average Progress 8 score of 0.76.

The lowest-ranked was The Vision Studio School, Mansfield, with a score of -1.31. The school is now permanently closed.

Toot Hill School was the best-performing school in the Advertiser area based on English and maths GCSE results, with 64% of its pupils achieving at least a grade 5 in both subjects.

At Tuxford Academy, 55% of pupils achieved that standard, and at the Minster School it was 54%.

It was 35% at South Nottinghamshire Academy, 32% at the Newark Academy, 30% at the Dukeries Academy and 29% at the Magnus Church of England Academy.

Over the county border in Lincolnshire, Sir William Robertson Academy, Welbourn, 21% of pupils achieved a grade 5 in the two subjects.