Bristol schools start to climb national league tables

Published by webmaster for Bristol City Council in Communities

Bristol schools have made a significant step forward by climbing off the bottom of the national league tables for GCSE results – and outperforming several other leading authorities, including two comparable ‘core’ cities, for those GCSE results that include the key subjects of Maths and English.

The tables, published by the government’s Department for Education and Skills today, confirm that Bristol made a 7% leap in performance for the proportion of students with five GCSEs grades A* to C – more than three times the national rate of improvement and the largest year-on-year increase in exam results in the city’s recent history.

The proportion of students with five or more GCSE Grades A* to C or equivalent vocational qualifications at maintained schools in Bristol rose from 36.5% in 2005 to 43.5% this year - with several individual schools seeing even higher improvements in in their results.

And 30.1% of students included Maths and English amongst their five higher grade passes – putting Bristol above cities including Manchester, Nottingham, Hull and Portsmouth. The government is expected to change the league tables next year to measure performance only where the five passes at A*-C include these two core subjects.

The improvement in GCSE results builds on similar recent improvements at Key Stages 2 and 3, where performance on some measures this year increased by as much as 8%. Bristol’s national ranking for Key Stage 2 (Year 6) performance has risen by 11 places in English; 10 places in Maths and 15 places in Science, to give just one example.

Following some years of improvement below national rates, the council, its partners  and Bristol schools have invested heavily in decisive action for change.

Important steps forward this year include:
• Two schools came out of special measures and are continuing to improve. There are no secondary schools now in special measures.
• All secondary schools in Bristol are now judged at least satisfactory by OfSTED inspectors, several judged to be good or outstanding in areas of their work
• Firm measures are now in place in all schools to support students in reaching their expected level of attainment at GCSE
• A £263 million secondary school rebuilding programme - using a combination of the council's own capital resources and government Private Finance Initiative (PFI) and Building Schools for the Future (BSF) credits – will provide strong foundations to maintain progress in future. This year alone, new school buildings have opened at Henbury, Portway, Fairfield, Monks Park and Bedminster Down and work is underway at Speedwell, Whitefield Fishponds and the new Redland Green.
In all schools the curriculum at 14-19 is being widened to include vocational qualifications and broader opportunities for learning for young people. whilst mainating a focus on the core of  English and Maths for all pupils.

Despite the improvement in results and the launch of initiatives to build future success, the city council refuses to be complacent. It acknowledges that much still needs to be done to establish a consistent pattern of improved exam performance in future.

Council leaders attributed this year's better GCSE performance to the hard work of teachers, heads, governors, students, parents and carers and stressed how this had been helped by an improved focus from the council on providing targeted support and challenge to schools.

They also praised the role played by the council's key partners, including the business sector and Bristol University, University of West of England and the City of Bristol College who had helped widen the curriculum and support the development of teaching staff and governors.

Councillor Barbara Janke, Leader of Bristol City Council, said: "Today’s news is a really important step forward for Bristol schools and education service. The year on year increase in performance at GCSE is more than three times  the national average and the best we have seen in the city’s recent history. Heads, teachers, parents, students and all our partner organisations who support schools are to be thanked and congratulated for their efforts. There is clearly still a long way to go and a great deal of work to be done. However, there’s a new determination amongst all in our education service and in our schools to build on the progress made this year and that promises much for future years.”

Bristol's Director of Children and Young People's Services Heather Tomlinson added: "These results show that the changes we have made are now having a real impact on outcomes for Bristol’s young people – not just in one part of the service or for one particular age group, but across the board. Initiatives we have introduced include improved support for heads, teachers and school governors; strengthened working with our partners in business and higher and further education and a massive investment in school buildings and facilities. There is a renewed focus by everyone on putting the needs of Bristol’s young people first and we are beginning to see a real difference across the city as a result. Of course, we recognise that performance needs to improve even further and we still have a great deal to do. However, everyone needs to get behind our schools and spread the good news about the change and improvement being delivered – building the confidence of those parents who have yet to discover exactly what our schls can offer and encouraging even more families to choose a Bristol school for their child.”

Ends

Press release issued: October 19 2006