Improving results should lift city’s ranking

This year has seen an improvement in Peterborough GCSE pass rates. As many regional statistics show an overall drop in pass rates the figures for Peterborough show an encouraging step in the right direction in terms of the percentage of passes at A* to C and also the numbers gaining good grades in English and maths. The detail is explained in this week’s comprehensive coverage of the GCSE and BTec results achieved at local schools. What is still to come later in the year is Peterborough’s results in the national league tables. These will be important because the city has been languising at the foot of the table consistently and a move up the table is much needed. Hopefully the improvements delivered by the staff and pupils in city schools this year for which they deserve great credit will see the city climb the rankings. Make no mistake, improving results is a real achievement. Marking is tougher, curriculums more rigorous and competition stronger every year. The regional figures suggest not every local authority will see an overall improvement on previous years. Hopefully the indicators so far will mean that Peterborough does. That is important because businesses and employers want to see a strong education sector when they look at investing in Peterborough. They look at the local education authority league tables when they consider investing in our local economy.Much has been invested in education at all levels in the city and the A-level and GCSE results are a major barometer for how successful that is proving. Showing that league table improvement would be the best result of all for the city.