New GCSE league tables published

League tables have been published showing how well students performed in the tougher new GCSEs.
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Last year's English and maths exams were the first to be graded under the new 9-1 system, with 9 being the top grade, while all other GCSEs were graded under the old A-G system.Among the top-performing maintained schools and academies in East Sussex, Priory School, in Lewes, saw 60 per cent of its students earn grade 5 or above in English and maths - a strong pass, similar to achieving a high grade C or low grade B in the old grading. Some 77 per cent earned grade 4 or above, which the Department of Education said was a standard pass, similar to a grade C or above.Robertsbridge Community College saw 53 per cent earn grade 5 or above, and 76 per cent of students earn grade 4 or above.The figures for Beacon Academy, in Crowborough, were 59 per cent at grade 5 and 77 per cent at grade 4.St Richard's Catholic College, in Bexhill-on-Sea, saw 82 per cent of its 205 Key Stage 4 pupils earn grade 4 or above and 54 per cent earn grade 5 or above.

In Brighton, Cardinal Newman Catholic School saw 81 per cent earn grade 4 or above and 57 per cent earn grade 5 or above. At Dorothy Stringer, the figures were 76 per cent at grade 4 or above and 59 per cent at grade 5 or above. Patcham High saw 75 per cent earn grade 4 or above and 49 per cent earn grade 5 or above.

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East Sussex schools fell slightly short of average when compared to the national data.Nationally, 42.6 per cent of state-funded school (39.6 per cent of all schools) achieved grade 5 or above in English and maths, which is seen as a strong pass. In East Sussex, the figure was 38.4 per cent. In Brighton & Hove, the figure was 47.2 per cent.Some 63.9 per cent of state-funded schools (59.1 per cent of all schools) achieved grade 4 or above in English and maths, which is seen as a standard pass. In East Sussex, the figure was 61.6 per cent. In Brighton & Hove, the figure was 67.6 per cent.When it came to the all-important Progress 8 scores, Beacon Academy and Richard's Catholic College led the way, scoring well above average.Heathfield Community College, Willingdon Community School, Seaford Head School, Hailsham Community College and Uckfield Community Technical College all scored above average.

In Brighton, Cardinal Newman Catholic School and Portslade Aldridge Community Academy both scored above average.Blatchington Mill School, Dorothy Stringer School and Patcham High School all scored average.So what is Progress 8? To put it simply, it’s a way of measuring the progress made by pupils from the end of primary school to the end of secondary school. Each child’s progress is measured across a selected set of eight subjects and then compared to children all over the country who started with the same attainment level. So, if ‘Anna’ started secondary school with high Key Stage 2 SATs results, her progress at the end of Year 11 would be judged against children who started from an equally high point. If she entered secondary school with low SATs results, her progress would be measured against others who had an equally low starting point. The Key Stage 2 scores are used to predict children’s ‘expected’ results in eight subject areas. At the end of Year 11, a score of zero means the student made the expected progress. Anything above zero means they made better than expected progress – good news for the school – while anything below zero means their progress was not as high as expected. The school’s Progress 8 score is calculated using the mean average of all its pupils’ scores. The expected standard for schools to achieve is a Progress 8 score of -0.5.The average Progress 8 score for East Sussex was 0.00.

A spokesman for East Sussex County Council said: "We welcome the fact East Sussex shows strong performance for the second year in our Progress 8 score, meaning young people in the county are making good progress between Key Stage 2 and 4. This is a testament to the hard work of the staff and pupils in our schools.

"We recognise that there’s work to be done to improve attainment and will continue to work with schools through our Excellence for All strategy.

"This will enable us to ensure all children are taught in a school rated good or outstanding by Ofsted and are able to reach their full potential.”