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Eastbourne Academy head defends results
Eastbourne Academy
EASTBOURNE Academy has the lowest GCSE results, including maths and English, in Sussex according to the latest league table.
The school in Brodrick Road, Hampden Park, had 33 per cent of pupils gain five A* to C grades including maths and English in last year’s GCSE examinations. This is three per cent down on its result in 2010, which was released last year, where it saw a rise from 31 per cent the previous year (2009).
However, Eastbourne Academy’s head teacher Keith Pailthorpe says other figures show the school is improving.
He said, “The Academy recognises people will look at the headline figure (five GCSEs including English and maths); we know this needs to be higher and are working to ensure this happens. To be fair, 90 per cent of our students got at least five good GCSEs, although not with both English and maths.
“Parents might also like to judge the Academy by how much progress students make during the time they are here. This is called Value Added and it is also in the league tables so people can see for themselves how much ‘value’ a school adds to the children it teaches.
“If you click on that heading you will see that Eastbourne Academy jumps to third highest in the county. We know parents will judge a school on a lot of measures, such as whether students behave themselves properly, show respect and become good citizens.
“You only have to ask our parents to know that on all these measures the Academy is moving in the right direction; we are not complacent and will move heaven and earth to get the best we can for our students.”
Hailsham Community College and Ratton School were the only state schools in the area to improve on last year’s figures with Hailsham jumping two per cent and Ratton celebrating a five per cent increase.
Willingdon Community School stayed at 66 per cent, which is the highest figure for the town’s state schools.
The results are confusing for some of the town’s independent schools with anomalies such as one per cent for Eastbourne College’s 2010 result.
An Eastbourne College spokesperson explained, “The performance data for Eastbourne College as produced by the Department for Education contains a number of serious anomalies and does not present a true picture of the high level of exam success achieved.
“While the government calculations are far from transparent, it is clear some of the statistics they have published for Eastbourne College are incorrect.
“The number of pupils who took GCSEs was 119, yet the government performance tables suggest there were 126. Also, the percentage of College pupils that achieved five A* to G grade GCSE or equivalent was 100 per cent, not 94 per cent as listed in the government tables.
“Additionally, published performance figures have been adversely affected by the government decision to exclude some combinations of subjects taught at the College.
“An example is the exclusion of religious studies or classical civilisation from the list of humanities subjects that form part of the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) – the government only recognises history or geography.
“Eastbourne College continues to offer some non-accredited subjects as we believe they are more rigorous courses of study that better prepare pupils for A level.”
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EAST SUSSEX SCHOOLS LEAGUE TABLE
The Causeway - A135 B57% C59%
Cavendish - A196 B59% C62%
Eastbourne Academy - A144 B33% C36%*
Eastbourne College - A126 B90% C1%
Hailsham Community College - A198 B60% C58%
Moira House Girls School - A27 B67% C86%
Ratton - A241 B59% C54%
St Bede’s School - A196 B67% C9%
Willingdon Community School - A184 B66% C66%
* 2010 result is for Eastbourne Technology
College which became Eastbourne Academy
Key
A - Number of pupils eligible for GSCE and equivalent qualifications. This is defined as the number of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4, which usually means all pupils in Year 11.
B - Proportion of candidates getting five A* to C grades at GCSE, including English and maths, in 2011
C - Proportion of candidates getting five A* to C grades at GCSE, including English and maths, in 2010
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Comments
There are 4 comments to this article
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Veracity
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 10:39 PMThe difference is YKnot is that it costs around ten grand a term to send a child to one of the private schools. And for that kind of dosh, they just have to perform or go under. State schools, at least the many failing ones, seem staffed by the idle and the dogma ridden who couldn't run a bath without referring to the Thou Shalt Not book. There are gems in the state sector. You just have to look very hard and move into the catchment area. We did, and it worked out very well. Mind you, a change of Head can very soon wreck a good school when the new broom starts sweeping. That's what happened to Ratton.
YKnot
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 10:20 PMHas anyone looked at the St Bede's and Eastbourne College Key Stage four 'average point scores' and 'average exam entries per pupil' and compared them with Hampden Park??? --- Eb. College - http:www.education.gov.ukcgi-binschoolsperformanceschool.pl?urn=114650 --- St Bede's - http:www.education.gov.ukcgi-binschoolsperformanceschool.pl?urn=114657 --- Hampden Park (Eastbourne Academy) - http:www.education.gov.ukcgi-binschoolsperformanceschool.pl?urn=136106
roneoron
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 01:25 PMOh, and by the way, perhaps someone ought to tell the ace reporters at The Herald that Barrie Williamson was arrested in Blackpool last week!
roneoron
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 01:22 PMPrecisely as forecast when the mad academy scheme was first mooted. When will our thick politicians realise that wasting millions turning failing schools into 'academies' achieves precisely nothing? Why do schools worldwide turn out students that put most of ours to shame? Simply, discipline in the home and at school and teaching staff who have not been corrupted by left wing ideology as ours have. It doesn't need the National Debt thrown at the problem. It needs those at the top of the heap to have guts and common sense! Won't hold my breath!
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