19 October 2016 weekly update

Dear Colleagues

Published 2016 GCSE Results for Kent

The DfE has just published the national data on GCSE outcomes for 2016. On most performance measures Kent is above the national average.

The percentage of pupils in Kent achieving 5 or more GCSE grades A*-C including English and mathematics, is 60.8%. This is above last year’s figure of 57.3%.

For the basics measure, the proportion of pupils who achieved A*-C in English and mathematics combined, the figure is 63.5%. This is 3.7 percentage points above last year’s result of 59.8%. The 2016 national figure is 62.8%. The percentage of pupils in Kent entered for English and maths was 95%, compared to the national figure of 96.8%. On this performance measure 40 Secondary schools performed above the national average.

There has been improvement in GCSE A*-C passes for English where the success rate this year is 76%, compared to 70.4% last year. The national average 74.7%.

In mathematics, there was a small increase this year to 68%, compared to 66.6% last year. The national average 68.5%.

There has also been an increase in the headline English Baccalaureate measure. This year 29.5 % of pupils achieved this qualification, rising from 26.5% last year. The national average is 24.6%. The percentage of pupils in Kent entered for the English Baccalaureate increased to 43.3%, compared to the national figure of 39.7%.

The average Progress 8 score for Kent is -0.04, which is just below the national figure of -0.03. The regional South East figure is -0.02.

The average Attainment 8 score per pupil in Kent is 50.3, compared to 49.9 nationally and 50.9 in the South East region.

Among our 11 local authority statistical neighbours, Kent is ranked 10^th for the percentage of pupils entered for A-C in English and maths; and 5^th or 6^th for Progress 8, Attainment 8 and the percentage of pupils achieving A-C in English and maths.

Among all 151 local authorities, Kent is ranked 80^th for Progress 8, 58^th for Attainment 8, 66^th for the percentage of pupils who achieved A-C grades in English and maths and 33^rd for the percentage who achieved the English Baccalaureate.

Progress 8 Scores in Kent Schools

Progress 8 and the percentage of pupils achieving A-C grades in English and Maths are the two most important performance measures. English and maths are double weighted in the Progress 8 score.

The Progress 8 scores are above the national average of -0.03 in 59 Secondary schools. 32 schools performed well in relation to the national average, with 10 schools well above the average. The Progress 8 scores in 38 schools are below 0, which means pupils made less than expected progress. In 11 Secondary schools the score is -0.05 or below, which is well below average.

The highest performing school achieved a Progress 8 score of 0.81, while the lowest performing school achieved a score of -1.35. This means that pupils in this school achieved nearly one and half GCSE grades less progress per subject than other pupils nationally with the same prior attainment at Key Stage 2.

Among 32 Grammar schools, 11 schools achieved Progress 8 scores close to the national average and were outperformed by a number of High Schools.

Attainment 8 Scores in Kent Schools

The Attainment 8 scores are at or above the national average of 49.8 in 37 Secondary schools. 24 schools performed well below the national average, with 32 schools well above the average.

Overall the results are positive and in a number of performance measures there has been improvement compared to 2015. However there is wide variation across schools and aspects of performance in some schools are well below average. The new Progress 8 measure is a fairer reflection of the progress achieved by all pupils in their GCSE examinations and provides a more accurate picture of the performance of schools for all pupils.

For more information and analysis of the results in Kent please contact Wendy.Murray@kent.gov.uk, Head of Management Information or Anton.Francic@kent.gov.uk, Head of School Improvement.

Patrick Leeson, Corporate Director Education and Young People’s Services