Private schools also see A-level dip
Private schools have followed national trends by seeing a dip in A-level success.
However, the pass rate for top grades achieved by A-level entrants from fee-paying schools is almost double the UK average. The number of A-level entries from independent school pupils awarded at least an A grade dropped to 48.7 per cent.
PRIVATE SCHOOOLS have followed national trends by seeing a dip in A-level success.
However, the pass rate for top grades achieved by A-level entrants from fee-paying schools remains almost double the UK average.
Figures published today show that the the number of A-level entries from independent school pupils awarded at least an A grade dropped to 48.7 per cent, down from 49.3 per cent the previous year.
The national average for 2016 is 25.8 per cent.
And the proportion of pupils achieving at least one A* was 17.9 per cent, down 0.6 per centage points on the previous year though still ahead of the national average of 8.1 per cent, itself down by 0.1 percentage point.
The figures, compiled by the Independent Schools Council (ISC), are based on data from 495 independent schools across the UK. They give each school an average point score per student for both A and AS-levels.
UCAS gives 140 points for an Alevel A* grade down to 40 for an E and 60 for an A at AS-level, down to 20 for an E.
Using this measure Queen Ethelburga’s College, between York and Harrogate had the highest score of any private school in the Yorkshire region.
The ISC figures show the school in Thorpe Underwood had an average point score of 419 per candidate. It was followed by Hymers College, in Hull, which had a score of 414. There were also four other schools whose average point score was well over more than the equivalent of three As at A-level per pupil.
Bradford Grammar School had a point score of 396, while Queen Margaret’s School, near York, achieved an average score of 379.
Ashville College, in Harrogate, and Bootham School, in York, both had point scores of 373. The Faculty of Queen Ethelburga’s had the lowest score among Yorkshire schools in the table. This is a separate school run by Queen Ethelburga’s where students can do vocational courses such as Btecs or do GCSEs and A-levels.
Nationally, the figures suggest that one in 15 candidates (6.8 per cent) got at least three A* grades, down slightly from one in 14 (seven per cent) the previous year.
The overall pass rate was 99.1 per cent – one percentage point better than the national average. The proportion of students getting an ABB grade remained at 55.5 per cent.
Barnaby Lenon, ISC chairman, said: “A concerted effort to halt grade inflation in recent years has seen the top grades both nationally and in independent schools level off and fall slightly, so it is encouraging to see the headline A* and A figure remain solid.
Julie Robinson, ISC general secretary, said: “The annual exam results each August remind us all that the academic side of school life is a top priority and that the grades achieved help pave a foundation for much that is to come for many young people.
“On top of all other aspects of independent school life, visible recently with the sporting successes of our alumni in the Olympics, these results show there is great strength and continued value in independent education.”
The figures also show that the number of students taking the International Baccalaureate rose by five per cent compared with last year. Candidates taking the Extended Project Qualification went up by 12 per cent while Btec entrants rose by 14 per cent. The ISC’s survey takes into account the results of 36,992 candidates.