If you are considering an academically selective school at 11 plus...

[NorhamGardens]

What sort of I/GCSE & A'level A-A*% pass rate is a good one?

I know these results don't tell the whole story but looking for an approximate minimum expectation for an apparently super selective independent school.

I would have thought it should be more than say 20-40% A-A* for example?

Our nearest selective school has 75% A/A* at GCSE and 73% at A Level.

Our catchment area state school has 48% A/A* at A level but I haven't seen their GCSE results yet.

Very selective schools do sometimes use artificial methods to keep their results high. It's not unheard of for pupils who are lagging behind to be asked to leave before exam years or for some pupils to be prevented from sitting some exams.

My old school - which used to be very academic but very much isn't any more (one of those girls-only independents which lost its way and a lot of its better pupils once many boys schools went mixed) had just over 61% of all A-levels at A-A, just under 60% A-A for GCSE.

I think that they welcome all comers, so I would suggest that a selective independent should be doing much better than that.

The boys at Ds's school achieved 73.1% A/A at A level, and 76% A/A for GCSE. It's a selective school though, so isn't really that much of a surprise. The catchment school he was offered was aiming for 24% pass rate last year for GCSE, there's no results for their A levels.

DS1's old school - the independent day school in our local town (but it is a particularly intellectual town) - A2: 80% A/A; GCSE: 89% A/A this year.
The town's (selective) sixth form college: "more than half" A2s at A*/A this year.

St. Paul's Girls achieved 89% a and 99% a/a this year. Don't know the numbers for the Boy's school, but it should be similar. These are obviously outstanding results, but these schools are also extremely selective.

Extremely selective and then happy to cull those who stumble along the way?

Here?s an example of a selective independent school which is not an exam factory and does not do culling but instead encourages and supports all its pupils to do any subject(s) they like (barring mickey mouse subjects) in IGCSE/GCSE and A2.

Not as familiar with SPF as SPB, but it is not a vicious exam factory at all. Actually a very supportive school which dies not teach to the exam, and gets the results it does despite this. Sorry to disappoint.

SPG, not SPF!

Nearly all very selectives will weed out those who are unlikely to get the required grades at A level. Some will be quite upfront about it others more discrete: "Mrs A... we're very worried we don't think Caspar is very happy here and we wondering if he may be happier at St B." Theres two ways of looking at this maybe they are right and maybe Caspar will not only be happier but get better results at St B or they are just results obsessed exam factories. .

My DD is at a super selective independent - last week 23 girls got straight A stars at GCSE: week before, 80% of A levels were at A star.

In my current DD's year, I only know of one girl, out of a hundred, who left since year 7 because it didn't suit her: in my elder DD's year, I don't remember anyone leaving for other than a family move. I may just not have noticed, of course, but it's clearly not at all common for girls to be asked to leave. They get their selection policy right at year 7 and then give full support to all of the girls they select.

Do you mean 20-40% getting allA*s -As?

At my dd's selective school 26 girls got all As out of 160.

Oh, honestly. Of course parents don't know exactly who leaves and why... and schools are hardly going to advertise reasons, either. ("We are proud to announce this year, girls, that 15 children are leaving the school, of which 3 are leaving because they think the school is a pushy exam factory, 5 are leaving because we suggested their children might be happier elsewhere - this means, we think they can't cope here - 2 are leaving because they've got into an even more academic school, 3 are pretending that they are moving too far away to continue at the school, but we happen to know through our grapevine that this isn't true and they are just pathetic wusses who can't express their true feelings, and 2 are genuinely very sad to have to go. Of those girls who are genuinely having to leave when they don't have to or want to, we will miss you. As for the rest, we are all well rid.") And even in a school that hardly anyone ever leaves, that doesn't mean that everyone is blissfully happy. I loved my grammar school, because it suited me, and was actually somewhat surprised at the number of people who subsequently told me they were miserable. None of them left, however. If you are happy, you don't tend to go around looking for who might be miserable.

DSs school is moderatley selective at 11+ and had an A level pass rate of 58% at A*/A.

They say they only take children who are performing at or above National Average at 11+ and expect all pupils to go on to A level.

Ultra selective school in South East of England I woudl expect pass rates above 90% level at A*/A.

[grin]@rabbitstew.

beckandcall if your school is one beginning with G I think you will find their A level pass rate at A and A is 80%+ together. 80% A would be amazing as even Wycombe Abbey who came top in this years' tables only had 41% A* at A2 last year (no breakdown of figures for this year)

DDs school in 2011 was over 91 per cent A and A at GCSE. From memory I think the A level A/A is about 30 per cent. Superselective and no one has been kicked out or prevented from taking exams at GCSE that I know of. Some girls have left after GCSE to either attend private schools on scholarships or because their GCSE science/maths grades are not high enough for the medic route where I think they need 2 or 3 A*s to take maths/chem/physics etc at A level.

I think the exact number depend on the school ie suoerselective/size of intake/grammar school area etc etc.

Local superselective grammar:
A/A at GCSE = 89% (A 56%)
A/A* at A level = 77%

going - you're right! It's 80% A/A* combined at A level - don't know if tht was a typo or wishful thinking on my part! And it is a school beginning with a G .......

The FT tables are pretty good. Last year - rankings.ft.com/secondary-schools/secondary-schools-2011
So that gives A and A for A levels together and leaves out A level media studies type of subjects. For example that shows my daughter's old school North London C at 88% A and A.

If I were you just try the best in your area and see where the child gets in.

Like the whole of life things are relative. The average IQ is only 100 and more children than not don't get 5 good GCSEs. The average pay is about £20k a year. Yet there are obviously a good few people who get good degrees from the best universities and women who earn a lot more than the average - see women who earn £1k a day thread even on mumsnet. Just try the best for the child you have and see how they go (if you believe in competition and success - plenty of people want home schooling or schooling without exams and all kinds of other choices for their children in a free country which is their choice).

How can anyone take seriously. statistics from a selective school.

[sigh] it looks as if I'm Duty Telling Xenia Money Isn't Everything mumsnetter.

Done.

Oh, and Duty Saying "Xenia, Your DD Didn't Go To NLC, Did She?" mumsnetter

In the independent sector and increasingly in the state sector the harder Pre U is replacing the A level and s a good indicator of how academic a school is. Few schools are brave enough to only offer the Pre U many are offering to their brighter pupils in either all subjects and also certain subject in particular languages math (?further). My ne