A Bridgnorth school has shot up the latest county performance table after seeing its GCSE results improve by almost 20 per cent.
Figures released by the Department for Children, Schools and Families revealed Bridgnorth Endowed School is now up to 13th in the county standings after its 2009 GCSE A* to C results, including maths and English, saw an 18 per cent increase on the year before.
Headteacher Phil Loveday said: “The staff have worked incredibly hard and done an absolutely incredible job. The other thing is we have seen a 14 per cent increase from A* to C in subjects across the board.
Mr Loveday said he felt lucky to work with such “fantastic staff and pupils” and was looking forward to see what could be achieved this summer.
“I only joined last January and think it’s the team feeling that has helped; everybody wants to do their best for the pupils,” he said. “There has been such a positive learning ethos in the school this year.
“Staff are being put through the Teacher Effectiveness Enhancement Programme (TEEP). It’s taken up quite a lot of our time this year, but it has really helped the development of our learning ethos.
“It’s all about actively learning and keeping the pupils active in lessons. Staff have also said they’ve been energised by the training themselves, which has continued throughout the year.”
For GCSE performance, Shropshire Council is ranked 30th among 154 education authorities. However the report also reveals girls outperformed boys on all seven indicators and warned the gap had widened on six of these, though it was still smaller than seen nationally.
Councillor Aggie Caesar-Homden, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People’s Services said: “These are excellent results and they show that more and more young people are achieving at high levels.”
Idsall School came top in the Bridgnorth area – one place above the Endowed School. Candidates that gained five A* to C grades at GCSE or equivalent including English and maths was 63 per cent and its ranking within the local authority was 12th.
The figures for the remaining local schools are: Bridgnorth Endowed School: 62 per cent, 13th; William Brookes: 59 per cent, 17th; The Lacon Childe School: 58 per cent, 18th; Oldbury Wells School: 41 per cent, 27th.
