Parent power 2023

“How the rankings were calculatedSchools are ranked by performance at A-level and GCSE in summer 2022. The number of A, A and B grades gained is expressed as a percentage of the total number of A-level entries overall. This is double-weighted. The number of 9, 8, 7, A and A grades gained at GCSE is expressed as a percentage of the total number of GCSE entries overall. We include IGCSEs sat in independent schools. This is single-weighted. School rankings are based on their combined performance in these examinations. Rankings based on performance at A-level or GCSE alone can be found by clicking on the relevant columns in the league table. International Baccalaureate (IB) outcomes have been converted to equivalent A-level grades where schools have asked us to do so. IB Higher level outcomes grades 7, 6 and 5 are equivalent to A-level grades A*AB respectively.
The average UK results are: at A-level, 62.8 per cent of entries were at grades B and above in 2022; at GCSE, 26.3 per cent of entries were at grades 7 and above in 2022.

I don’t have it anymore but I remember checking it at the time and for me it was somewhat but not fully satisfactory. Rankings also change quiet a bit every year depending on the cohort, so I concluded for myself that anything within the top 50 is good enough academically. Beyond that I think you are better to look elsewhere for clues: humanities or stem-leaning, compulsory sports, niche sports, competitive academics, leavers’ destinations, culling after gcses, etc etc

Please can somebody with access to the ParentPower site post a screenshot of their methodology for the 2022 listings?

Fwiw, I think it's pretty suspicious that their methodology isn't publicly available before people pay for a subscription!

The "results" are probably self-reported by schools rather than official because the list was published in December 2022, two months before the Government published any official national results. Also, there are many schools thay aren't in the list, including the one where I work (which has better results than some of the schools listed). Does anyone know whether schools pay to be on the list?

If the list isn't objective, its not very useful. I can understand why private schools might want to be on it, for advertising, but if it costs money to appear then I'm less certain about state schools' motivation (other than vanity). Our school is already very over-sunscribed. Putting it in the Times list would just draw in the carpet baggers and drive out the locals!

In the Parent Power 2023 top state secondary school list, I was surprised to find a comprehensive school called St Peter's Catholic School (Guildford) ranking 45. How can this school achieve this without filtering its incoming pupils?

MN, in case you ever do a selected thread section, this post should be put near the top there

@Parentpower1 they are ranked 134, if that helps.

I thought I'd update (in case anyone is Interested 😂), the school got back to me, let me know they did not (along with quite a few other schools) submit data this year.

Thanks for the information

@Parentpower1 Epsom college is in the list, ranked number 134

Hi, does anyone have any information on Epsom College. They don’t appear in the Top 100 Independent School list this year. Thankyou

@EmmatheStageRat thank you ever so much, it is interesting to see Crossley too isn't on the list too.

Hopefully your dd will get a place at Greenhead, it looks fantastic.

Definitely going to take the tables with a pinch of salt 😂

@CowsInFields , yes, I did a thorough search but Ermystead’s didn’t come up. Maybe because they’re giving other schools a turn this year?! Ermystead’s has done so well in the charts for the last couple of years. DD1 is at NHGS so I’m interested to see that it is third in the north and Crossleys doesn’t appear anywhere. I’m taking it all with a pinch of salt and keeping fingers crossed that Y10 DD1 gets a place at Greenhead College for sixth form.

@EmmatheStageRat thank you,
I can't seem to find the school, so I've queried whether they have opted out (DS seems to think that was a bad idea )

Ha, yes to this @PreplexJ. We live in an area where the grammar schools are all catchment schools – if you get above a certain mark you will get a grammar school place (though not necessarily at your first choice). Every year we get dozens if not hundreds of parents asking 'what score does my child have to get to gain a place?' To which the answer is, they could get the highest score ever recorded and they still won't get a place if they don't also live in catchment.

Surely doing this level of basic research into schools is fairly fundamental?

We looked a a few (4) for DD1 but we were not going to drive for hours (we are rural) and we needed a school for girls that took from 11, ideally. Also DD1 was state educated so we needed to be careful about entrance exams. We really didn’t have a long list! DD did 2 lots of exams and interviews and we jointly decided where she would be happiest. In a city it’s very different with so many options within easy reach. I couldn’t agree more about finding the school that makes you and Dc feel they belong.

Interestingly we looked at 6 for DD2 for 6th form. Art was her thing so we needed great art teaching. I had contacted several others and even talking to admissions you get a “feel” for a school. Several were ruled out on the basis of being told art wasn’t academic! One said history of art wasn’t academic either. Both these schools had less than stellar results and were allegedly inclusive.

Hear hear!

Oh, I see. You just hopped on here to have a pop at random strangers. Nice.

@CowsInFields , is this helpful?

I looked at more than 10 schools in the state sector - plus a load of private schools. Our top choice was unanimously a state one.

You don't need to take the child with you, and it's very interesting when you have seen a LOT of schools and heard a lot of HT speeches to see what makes one tick the boxes and another not.

Next 5-7 years of DC's life warranted the same attention I'd put into house buying (it is after all rather easier to move house than move to a great school outside main entry points).

I’m not in the market to fork out £350k for my DC’s education. Fortunately, she’s having a wonderful experience at an excellent state school - and being stretched academically too, believe it or not - so I don’t need to.

Certain group of parents choose school based on league table only. They will be sitting all the top Grammar schools in the top ranking list irrespective of where one lives, then allowing the child to commute hours just to be in a top Grammar school (rank top 5?) even though there is a local Grammar school (maybe rank 50?).

Why bonkers? It's just due diligence. If you were buying a house you'd want to see a good range in your area / price bracket before committing. I think if you're spending c.£350k on seven years of education, you want to know what one school offers that another doesn't etc, and get a good feel for the various cultures at different schools so that you can make an informed decision about which would really suit your DD. I think most parents at my DD's prep will see ten or more. Why wouldn't you with such an important decision to make?

@KiwiMum2023 i don’t think so. I just know 1 family who has applied to more than 10 schools and that’s only because they are interested in both boarding & day schools. And more importantly, the child’s performance will go down if made to do so many entrance exams & interviews one after the other.

Did I read correctly that ‘most’ parents are viewing up to 15 schools for their DC? Bonkers.

My husband and I very specifically ruled out any schools that had a bad reputation for culling.

This isn't because we were concerned our kids would be asked to leave as they are very able. Its because schools like that tie 100% of an individual's self-worth to a very narrow definition of achievement. Even if a child is successful in that environment, they are still left with that overarching message.

Friends of ours who are GPs have told us of the long term mental health issues they see in adults who've been and current students that are in schools like this, and it is not pretty.

I'm naturally very competitive so when it came to picking a school I had to really take a hard look at myself to make sure I was making decisions that were really best for my child rather than just feeding my own ego! We've chosen a top school but one that aligns with our broader values on education and pastoral care rather than just the one with the highest league table ranking.