State Schools Eclipse Eton in rankings for A-Level Science

Is it only A level performance that is counted? Do schools which do IB won't be in there at all, and those which do Pre-U in one or more subjects won't feature where they might if all A level (bit like the many independents who don't get any pupils with 5A*-C GCSE because they do IGCSE which doesn't count).

Also, the bar chart was interesting, in that only for independent schools is the performance across all subjects pretty much the same as performance in STEM. The others all have quite large discrepancies one way or the other.

So is there also an (unfortunate) message there, that if you don't know where your DC's talents and interests will lie at 11/13 the type of school which caters equally well for STEM and humanities are those in the private sector?

I'm not surprised as Eton and harrow don't prepare children for jobs of today or the future.
They tend not to have a job but a career in Politics, Economics and Law.

A lot of independents don't do A levels either, not sure about Eton.

Well, though obviously the world needs STEM students, it doesn't just need STEM students.

The Kings College Maths School only does about 4 subjects, Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Computing and selects on the basis of A* at Maths and Physics GCSE and a maths aptitude test, so it's not really surprising that it tops a STEM chart - it's highly selective and there won't be anyone there studying history or languages or English or philosophy. If I had a child who was good at maths and lived nearby, I'd certainly consider this school.

The world will be infinitely less interesting though if we try to make every school like this, and we will be lacking some very valuable skills.

There's still a much greater percentage of independent schools in there, considering they educate perhaps 7% of the children in the U.K. (I'm not sure of the number, but someone will be).

And yes, Eton and Harrow may be famous, but they are not regarded as the most academic.

It's sensationalist reporting.

I suspect there are less STEM students doing A levels at Eton and Harrow and more doing Politics and Economics.

Let's be clear - parents who send their children to Eton are not doing it for the academic results.