How schools rank on GCSE results
West Kent among best performers in county
Tonbridge Grammar School is the best-performing in terms of GCSE results in all of Kent, according to government figures.
West Kent schools dominated the top of the Department for Education’s list, which ranked schools in order of average Attainment 8 score - a tool which measures the achievement of a pupil across eight different subjects during the exams which took place earlier this summer.
The data puts Tonbridge Grammar top of the pile with a score of 77.9 - substantially ahead of The Judd School, also based in Tonbridge, which is ranked second with 75.7.
However, some critics of the county’s selective system say it is not an accurate representation of best performing schools.
The top 31 spots are dominated by grammars, with the highest non-selective score coming from Tunbridge Wells’ Bennett Memorial Diocesan School, with 57.7.
The highest Maidstone-based non-selective, meanwhile, was The Maplesden Noakes School with a score of 40.6.
However, there were local schools at the other end of the scale, too, with The Malling School ranked as the sixth-worst in the county for Attainment 8, excluding special schools, scoring 32.2.
Joanne Bartley, from the anti-grammar campaign, Kent Education Network, however, felt the ranking was unfair.
“Parents may think these mean something but grammars are bound to get these higher scores because they carefully select the pupils who will do well in exams - they are not doing any magic in the classrooms,” she said.
Rosemary Joyce, head teacher at Tonbridge Grammar School, said: “The teaching team prides itself on ensuring each student is ‘real world ready’.
“When we see students become independent learners who are curious, creative and critical thinkers and are driven to make a difference in the world, we feel a great sense of accomplishment.”