THE FT TOP INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS FINANCIAL TIMES SPECIAL REPORT | Saturday September 13 2008
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
THE FT TOP INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS FINANCIAL TIMES SPECIAL REPORT | Saturday September 13 2008 www.ft.com/independentschools2008 Right answer: pupils study mathematics at the independent King Edward VI High School for Girls in Birmingham, which came 9th in the FT ranking this year Getty How to read the great rebellion Simon Briscoe and land and Wales, and Scottish subjects, such as physical time to publish league this year’s results. But read- that only one in nine schools offering Highers and education, do not demand tables, because we are using ers should also beware that achieves the AAB grades in David Turner look A-levels. Many have also the same intellectual ability results before re-marks. some schools that would be core subjects that most of at the FT ranking achieved great results Ð from pupils. Moreover, the But 2007 data suggest post- near the bottom of the table the top universities require some given a fair wind range of exams offered is re-marking adjustments without a mitigating circum- from successful private of school A-level because they can dictate increasingly broad, includ- made very little difference to stance, such as an expertise school candidates. results and assess entry through academic abil- ing the International Bacca- a school’s aggregate position in Special Educational Needs Thankfully, all is not lost. ity, and some despite having laureate and new Pre-U as in the rankings for that year. children, may have with- Most schools still judge that the decision of to take more or less whoever an alternative to A-levels, Moreover, cynics have drawn to avoid publicity of no harm is done by letting many not to take can pay. Some have man- and the IGCSE as an aca- counter-argued that schools poor performance. the consumers see the data Ð aged this at fee levels well demically tougher alterna- which do not want to pub- Some of these schools may reckoning parents will use part this year under half Westminster’s. tive to GCSEs. lish their data yet have well publish their results on the information sensibly. This year’s table has more School heads also have a made this choice precisely their websites, but it is Most are keen to highlight gaps than usual Ð reflecting horror of “teaching to the because they are so con- impossible to verify the web- their success to tempt par- e s t m i n s t e r the boycott of league tables test” rather than doing what site version’s accuracy. ents to send their children School once by about one in 10 private they feel is best for the MORE ON FT.COM Schools that control the there. again stands schools. We apologise to longer term love of learning terms of publication are also In any case, they can run Ð head and shoul- readers for the loss of infor- they want to engender. Parents wrestle with rising able to put their own spin on sometimes, from the best of Wders above other schools in mation, but the schools have Schools are not all in the fees Sharlene Goff examines the figures Ð for example, by motives Ð but they can’t A-level results. Its pupils made their choice. same market. Some have how they are coping excluding candidates who hide. It remains a legal manage a quantity Ð four Some schools have long clear specialisms, including www.ft.com/independent failed their exams. requirement for schools to each on average Ð at a con- harboured a dislike of league special needs or foreign stu- schools2008 One school near the bot- submit data to the govern- sistently high quality Ð 92 tables. But the widely publi- dents who do not have Eng- tom of our 2007 rankings ment, which will publish the per cent at grade A Ð that is cised decision this year of lish as their first language. cerned about the league claims on its website to have 2008 exam results in Janu- unmatched. two top boys’ schools, Eton Some focus on dance or sci- tables Ð making them hang “a proven record of aca- ary. So schools cannot with- How does Westminster College and St Paul’s School, ence. Like is often being on for the re-marking. demic success” and “a proud hold data completely Ð and manage it? The school’s rep- to make the stand meant compared with unlike. Yet, for all these flaws and tradition of entry to Oxford certainly not from our utation creates a virtuous that others felt less exposed There is also considerable caveats, the table is worth and Cambridge”. Its 2007 spring supplement on Eng- circle Ð good pupils and good by declining to publish. year-to-year volatility in a publishing. It will help pro- results Ð the 2008 results land’s top schools. teachers are attracted by its Some of the disparate rea- school’s results, especially spective private school cli- have not been put in the The problem is that, in highly selective nature and sons given by schools have when the cohort is small and ents start sorting schools in public domain Ð showed many cases, this information wide catchment area. meat to them. Exams are not a couple of exceptional or their area. This table is help- barely any A grades, with comes too late for parents The school offers both day the only output of a school Ð poor performances can make ful because for many par- most passes at D and E. looking for a school for the and boarding, occupies a music, art, sport, culture a big difference. The gap in ents, academic achievement Another that has with- next academic year. prestigious central London need to be valued. Schools the rankings between two is the central goal of an drawn from our tables talks This means that, schools location, and gives results a have different raw material schools with similar results expensive education. about its pupils going on to can choose between provid- further boost through very to work with, because some can look very large (see arti- Parents can assume that Oxford University and Impe- ing information which is competitive entry for girls are able to select pupils cle on page 2). These prob- schools with a superlative rial College London “to 13 months old, or one month into the sixth form. more than others. lems are often not reflected academic history, such as name just a few”. It also old. Most have still opted for Our table lists nearly 500 The increasing mix of in media presentation. Eton and St Paul’s, will have states that “most” pupils the latter, despite the great other independent schools subjects taught also makes Some schools have also performed well this year Ð take three A-levels. Finan- league table rebellion of that offer A-levels in Eng- comparisons hard. Some argued that this is the wrong even though they cannot see cial Times research shows 2008. 2 FINANCIAL TIMES SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 13 2008 FT Top Independent Schools In This Issue The biggest movers are girls' schools WINNERS AND LOSERS Liz Lightfoot looks at the high-fliers ± and falling stars ± in this year's league table Page 3 Questions parents must ask A HEADMASTER SPEAKS Headmaster Simon Davies tells parents what they must focus on when selecting a school Page 3 Extra help to gain a place Thumping results: Loughborough's Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College educates pupils for military careers John James TUTORING Miranda Green looks at the steps parents can take to secure Insights into performance their school of choice for a child Page 4 EXPLAINING THE TABLE The columns of points per The table also gives figures average, an extra 0.3 A-levels entry and points per candi- for the percentage of exams per person. But the grades of Simon Briscoe date Ð which are weighted at grade A and at AB com- their results are very similar. Access to top universities still a key looks at how to together to derive the FT bined, and the number of Pupils at Cheltenham factor score used to rank schools Ð subjects sat per pupil. Ladies College, by contrast, interpret the FT's explain the reasons for, and Piecing together all the sit a similar number of HIGHER EDUCATION Pupils from elite rankings and how significance of, any apparent data tells a story about the exams Ð 3.4 on average Ð but schools still find fewer obstacles on the trend. schools in an area. get better grades. Three- path to Oxford and Cambridge, writes to detect trends For example, a drop of one In Cheltenham, for exam- quarters are at grade A com- Miranda Green Page 5 quarter of one grade in A-lev- ple, there is not much pared with just a half at the e s t m i n s t e r els across the school could between the exam results of other two schools. School might cause it to drop by more than Cheltenham College and That difference propels The FT Top Independent Schools have come top 50 places. Only a discussion Dean Close School. The latter CLC into the top 20 nation- THE TABLES Our comprehensive ranking of of the FT tables with the school should reveal has been a few places higher ally, while the other two are Wagain, but a single ranking if that is a trend or just in the rankings mainly around the 150-200 mark in the top schools in each part of the country based on A-level results can erratic.