Derbyshire education chiefs have praised the work of the county's pupils who beat the national average in their GCSE results, according to newly-published league tables.
Pupils gaining the Government-set benchmark of five GCSE A*- C grades including maths and English was 47 per cent in 2007 – above the national average of 46.7 per cent.
And the summer’s results were an improvement on the previous year when 45.5 pe
r cent of the county’s year 11 students achieved the five A*- Cs.
Cllr Alan Charles, Derbyshire County Council’s schools chief, said: “The general picture in Derbyshire for both GCSE and A-levels is very positive and I congratulate all the pupils and teaching staff concerned.
“Our GCSE and A level results have improved year on year and compare favourably with similar authorities in the East Midlands and nationally.
“The strength of pupils’ performance across all subjects and their good skills in English and maths is particularly encouraging as they will help students throughout their lives.”
The highest and lowest ranked schools in the Derbyshire Times circulation area were St Mary’s Catholic High, in Chesterfield, and Alfreton’s Mortimer Wilson, respectively.
In 2007, 76 per cent of pupils at St Mary’s gained five A*- C GCSEs – a drop from 85 per cent the previous summer – and 20 per cent of Mortimer Wilson’s students hit that benchmark, five per cent fewer than in 2006.
Bolsover School, South Normanton’s Frederick Gent and Newbold School all made significant improvements on last year’s GCSE and league table results. But Heritage Community School in Clowne and Tupton Hall slipped seven and 12 places respectively.
Schools were also given a ‘contextual value added’ score, which compared pupils’ exam performances with those in other parts of the country who had similar results in the past.
This measurement also took into account pupils’ backgrounds and factors including special educational needs, gender and deprivation.
The value added score was based around 1,000, with Derbyshire schools having an average of 997.4 – dropping from last year’s 1001.5.
St Mary’s Catholic High topped the area’s league with 1,028, and Shirebrook School also scored highly with 1,021.5.
Cllr Charles added: “We always strive to do even more to support teaching and learning and we will be working with schools to help raise standards further."
The full article contains 404 words and appears in Derbyshire Times newspaper.
