Ruislip & Eastcote & Northwood Gazette
Best schools in the west revealed
THE Gazette's Real Schools Guide is an annual list ranking the schools in west London by performance and other key indicators.
The survey looks at all non-private secondary schools in Westminster, Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea, Brent, Ealing, Hounslow, Hillingdon and Harrow , using a specially devised 50 data point system to rank them.
The rankings have been provided by Reach Plc's data unit and the unique rating system uses 50 different measures broken into four categories – attainment, progress, attendance and outcomes.
Here is the top 10 in west London (with national ranking included).
■■1. Wembley High Technology College, Brent (1)
Wembley High Technology College has not only kept its five-star rating from last year's guide, but leapfrogged from a very respectable 157th in the country to become the best secondary school in the country in 2018.
This year's overall score is 93.5, up from 69.8 the year before. The achievement is all the more remarkable as just shy of 80% of pupils at the school do not speak English as a firs language. In 2017, 89% of pupils at Wembley High Technology College gained at least 5 A* to C or 9-4 grade GCSEs, including English and maths at 9 to 4. Nationally, 61.3% of pupils achieved this.
The school also bucks the trend when it comes to Attainment 8, a score used to quantify GCSE performance. In 2017, Attainment 8 scores fell compared to 2016 both in Brent and nationally. However, at Wembley High scores for Attainment 8 actually increased.
■■2. Guru Nanak Sikh Academy, Hillingdon (34)
Guru Nanak Sikh Academy, in Springfield Road, Hayes, is the second best school in west London and the 34th best in the country according to our Real Schools Guide.
Incredibly, 91.5% of pupils at the academy do not speak English as a first language, and yet in just one year the school has gone from 772nd in the country to 34th.
In 2017, the most recent results available, 80% of pupils at Guru Nanak Sikh Academy gained at least 5 A* to C or 9-4 grade GCSEs, including English and Maths at 9 to 4. Nationally, 61.3% of pupils achieved this.
The latest figures, from 2015/16, show that not only did 100% of pupils remain in further education, but that 0% of them “dropped out” in the first three months.
■■3. The Grey Coat Hospital, Westminster (54)
The girls-only school in Pimlico has continued its rich tradition of doing well in the league tables, this time jumping up from 96th in the country last year to 54th this year.
The school also beat the downturn in Attainment 8 scores, hitting 64.3, compared to a national average of 49.9. In 2017, the most recent results available, 87% of pupils at The Grey Coat Hospital gained at least 5 A* to C or 9-4 grade GCSEs, including English and Maths at 9 to 4. Nationally 61.3% of pupils achieved this.
■■4. Sacred Heart High School, Hammersmith & Fulham (66)
The Hammersmith Road school has managed to boost its score by more than 11 points to 75.9 this year, which translates to an increase in the rankings from 336 to 66 nationally.
In 2017, the average Attainment 8 score per pupil at Sacred Heart High School was 66.4, while in Hammersmith and Fulham as a whole it was 50.9.
In 2017, 93% of pupils at Sacred Heart High School gained at least 5 A* to C or 9-4 grade GCSEs including English and Maths at 9 to 4. Nationally 61.3% of pupils achieved this.
With the national Progress 8 average score set at 0, Sacred Heart has an incredible 0.97 score for Progress 8.
The school has also dramatically reduced the number of pupils per teacher, from more than 18 in 2013 to below 16 in 2017.
■■5. St Mark’s Catholic School, Hounslow (68)
The Bath Road school has slipped down a little in our rankings this year, going from 21st in the country to 68th.
However, it is still the top performing school in the borough and its performance is more remarkable given that exactly half of the pupils do not speak English as a first language.
Attainment 8 at the school was 59.4, well above the average for Hounslow, which is 48.
In 2017, the most recent results available, 88% of pupils gained at least 5 A* to C or 9-4 grade GCSEs, including English and Maths at 9 to 4. Nationally 61.3% of pupils achieved this. Progress 8 is also at well above the national average, with a score of 0.88.
■■6. The Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School, Ealing (89)
Cardinal Wiseman is celebrating an “outstanding” achievement after being awarded a double gold standard seal of academic approval by the Department of Education.
The Catholic school in Greenford has achieved a five-star rating all round, but did slip in the rankings slightly this year from 56 to 89.
The average Attainment 8 scores in Ealing is 48.7, but the school managed to score a significantly higher 56.6. In 2017, 82% of pupils at Cardinal Wiseman gained at least 5 A* to C or 9-4 grade GCSES including English and Maths at 9 to 4. Nationally 61.3% of pupils achieved this.
The school has also been working on the ratio of pupils to teachers, falling below the national average at below 15, while 97% of the pupils leaving the school continue to stay in education, up a percentage point on the previous year.
■■7. The Heathland School, Hounslow (101)
Heathland are just outside the top 100 schools in the country on the Real Schools Guide, but still climbed from 179 last year to 101 this year.
The Wellington Road South school is the second best in Hounslow and achieved amazing results despite having nearly 70% of pupils that do not speak English as a first language, and 13.3% of pupils who are eligible for free school meals.
Cruising well above the local average of 48 for Attainment 8, the school achieved a 55.5 average.
In 2017, 81% of pupils at The Heathland School gained at least 5 A* to C or 9-4 grade GCSES including English and Maths at 9 to 4. Nationally 61.3% of pupils achieved this.
Progress 8 scores are also very far above the average, with Heathland scoring 0.93.
■■8. Whitmore High School, Harrow (110)
Whitmore High is another school which slipped back a few places this year, from 78 to 110.
Still achieving top results in the borough, the school's average Attainment 8 score was 54.5, compared with the Harrow average of 49.7.
In 2017, 74% of pupils at Whitmore High School gained at least 5 A* to C or 9-4 grade GCSES including English and Maths at 9 to 4. Nationally 61.3% of pupils achieved this.
The school's Progress 8 was also “significantly above average”, at 0.87. The score is even higher for the 67.9% of pupils who don't speak English as a first language, who had a Progress 8 of 1.06.
■■9. Gunnersbury Catholic School, Hounslow (115)
Gunnersbury Catholic School dropped just a spot this year, from 114 to 115 nationally, despite its overall score increasing from 71.6 to 72.2.
An Attainment 8 score of 60 beats the national average of 49.9 and the local average of 48, while those who are high achievers already scored an even more impressive 67.1.
In 2017, 91% of pupils at Gunnersbury Catholic School gained at least 5 A* to C or 9-4 grade GCSES including English and Maths at 9 to 4. Nationally 61.3% of pupils achieved this.
The school also has a significantly higher number of pupils with Special Educational Needs, at 14.2% compared with the average of 10.5%.
Between 2016 and 2017, the pupils per teacher figure fell from 17.7 to 15.9, to become more in line with the national average of 15.6.
■■10. Reach Academy Feltham, Hounslow (131)
Reach Academy is a newcomer to the Real Schools Guide rankings and managed to break in at 131st in the country at its first go.
The school takes pupils from the ages of four to 19 and is crowing in size with every new intake, with 636 pupils in 2016/17.
More than one in five of the children come from backgrounds which make them eligible for free school meals, and yet the schools Attainment 8 score is almost 10 points above the Hounslow average.
In 2017, 93% of pupils at Reach Academy Feltham gained at least 5 A* to C or 9-4 grade GCSES including English and Maths at 9 to 4. Nationally 61.3% of pupils achieved this.
The new school also has the best Progress 8 score in the list, coming in at 1.11 average.
Children classified as disadvantaged perform even better, scoring 1.24 on the Progress scale.
There are just 13.3 pupils per teacher at the school, way below the 15.6 national average.