You may have noticed that the GCSE results on our website do not match the figures in the government tables appearing in the press.

This is because the government makes two arbitrary errors in compiling its tables. Independent schools have frequently protested about the errors, but to no avail.

First, the government ignores passes from International GCSE, or IGCSE, exams. Many independent schools use these because they set a higher overall standard, especially for maths as we have been doing at Stoke.

Second, if a student is older than his or her normal year group, their results are discounted altogether. In fact the government methodology is so badly flawed that the pupil is counted as taking GCSE’s but achieving absolutely nothing. This especially distorts the numbers in a school like ours where we pay close attention to the progress of individual pupils, and place them into the year-group which best suits their capabilities.

So you can be confident that in 2007 68% of our pupils taking GCSE truly achieved five or more passes – including IGCSE maths – at grades A, B or C. The average figure for the last four years was 83%.

As we measure each pupil’s progress regularly against UK national norms, we are also confident that these results are significantly ahead of what the same pupils could have achieved in the average school.

Summer 2001
The percentage of Year 11 who achieved 5 or more A* - C grades at GCSE was 59%.
The National pass rate was 50%.

Summer 2002
The percentage of Year 11 who achieved 5 or more A* - C grades at GCSE was 65%.
The National pass rate was 52%.

Summer 2003
The percentage of Year 11 who achieved 5 or more A* - C grades at GCSE was 71.4%.
The National pass rate was 53%.

Summer 2004
The percentage of Year 11 who achieved 5 or more A* - C grades at GCSE was 83.3%.
The National pass rate was 53%.

Summer 2005
The percentage of Year 11 who achieved 5 or more A* - C grades at GCSE was 79%.
The National pass rate was 55%.

Summer 2006
The percentage of Year 11 who achieved 5 or more A* - C grades at GCSE was 100%.
The National pass rate was 56%.

Summer 2007
The percentage of Year 11 who achieved 5 or more A* - C grades at GCSE was 68%.
The National pass rate was 56%.


N.B.
The Department for Education and Science (DfES) compels private schools to include in their statistics students in Year 10 who would be too old for Year 10 in the State system.
Consequently, their statistics include students who took no GCSEs in that year. Our statistics are indelendently audited by the Independent Schools Association (ISA).