Secondary schools performance data released

Today sees the publication of all the performance data for secondary schools in England for 2015. Here's a run-down of how schools in the area fared.

GCSEs

Nationally, the percentage of students gaining five GCSEs at A* to C, including English and maths, rose slightly from 53.4 per cent to 53.8 per cent. But in Northumberland, the improvement was much more marked, increasing from 52.6 per cent in 2014 to 56.9 per cent, above the national average.

However, the countywide improvement was not matched at the Duchess's Community High School in Alnwick where the percentage of pupils gaining the five GCSEs dropped from 56 per cent to 53 per cent. The percentage of pupils making the expected amount of progress from Key Stage 2 (age 11) to Key Stage 4 (GCSEs) was 64 per cent for English and 69 per cent for maths, against county averages of 68 per cent and 71 per cent.

At James Calvert Spence College, 50 per cent of students attained five GCSEs A* to C including maths and English, up from 45 per cent in 2014. In terms of pupils making the expected progress in the core subjects, the school was well above the county average for English (77 per cent), but well below for maths (62 per cent).

Berwick Academy saw its GCSE performance go up from 43 per cent to 48 per cent, but it remains below the national and county averages. Pupils making the expected progress in the core subjects was impressive in maths (74 per cent), but less so in English (58 per cent). At private school Longridge Towers, GCSE performance was down from 63 per cent in 2014 to 57 per cent.

Among the top performers in the county was Morpeth's King Edward VI (KEVI) School, which saw 72 per cent of students attain five GCSEs A* to C, including English and maths, slightly up from 71 per cent the previous year. The progress figures were impressive too - 74 per cent for English and 85 per cent for maths.

A-Levels

At the Duchess's Community High School in Alnwick, 86 per cent gained at least two A-Levels at A* to E and 65 per cent gained three, while at James Calvert Spence College in Amble, the figures were 82 per cent and 50 per cent. Both schools fared worse than the county as a whole - 88 per cent and 70 per cent - and the national average - 92 per cent and 79 per cent.

At Berwick Academy, 85 per cent of students managed two A-Levels and 57 per cent three, while at Longridge Towers, it was 83 per cent and 72 per cent. KEVI was top of the pile in Northumberland with figures of 100 per cent and 88 per cent.