How much should league tables matter when choosing a private school?

[pinkmud80]

Currently looking at options for DS2 for either 7+ or 11+ and got a bit fixated on league tables. How much do these reflect how well your child will do?

For context, DS2 is a very bright child (more so than DS1 I would say) but sensitive. One school may be 10% points above another in league table, but does this mean he would have a better chance of doing well academically at that school, and conversely would he fare less well in a school lower down the league tables, or will a bright child with good parental support do just as well anywhere?

Does pastoral care/mental wellbeing drop off as these schools are pushier?

It's easy to try to make choices based on stats but I have a feeling I am being very black and white about this, and people may have opinions / comments that could open this up a bit more for me. Thanks for any thoughts!

Most of the independent schools that appear at the top of the league tables strongly discourage most children from taking more than 9 GCSEs in order to protect their league table position.

I'm fairly sure this isn't true. I only have a limited amount of personal experience, but of the schools I know about at the very top of the league tables (several of them) most children are doing 10-12 GCSEs just as they generally do in grammars.

We picked a school at the top of the league tables for DD, but that wasn't why we picked it (she did 11 GCSEs and one higher qualification in Maths). We picked it because of the curriculum, because of the ethos and because it felt like somewhere DD would be at home.

@Glaciferous - you’re correct. None of the top private schools I know about encourage fewer GCSEs to preserve league tables!

Hmmm - I have direct experience to the contrary, but won't quote the schools (top 15 though). Obviously they would never admit that league table positions were part of the reason (all quote 'quality not quantity'), and they do make exceptions sometimes - plus they offer extra opportunities outside actual GCSE subjects, so overall it's not a bad offering at all. But I still think league tables are likely a considerable factor in discouraging additional GCSEs - especially as I'm sure there are many parents like the OP who are considerably swayed by them, and the schools know this!

Ok, speaking to the ex-pupils involved, "strongly discourage" is too strong a statement for that top tier school and quite a lot of them took 10 or more. However, I think it's not too strong a statement for some slightly lower tier independent schools (e.g. with GCSE grade 7+ %s around 75-80%) as we have had direct conversations with them in relation to our younger DC in the last few months. My point really anyway is that some schools at least do restrict the number of exams taken per child and the league tables don't take that into account as they are all about grades per exam. It's another argument for not putting too much weight on league tables is all.

I know schools where pupils who won’t get a high grade are encouraged to drop the subject or are entered as a private candidate so their results don’t count as the school’s results.

Bear in mind the league tables can be gamed.

For example one highly academic school that regularly comes in the top 5 is known for managing out children who aren’t on course for a top grade, or asking them to take that exam “off the books” ie not at school and off the school’s records.

At another high league table school (Wimbledon High) pupils only take 9 GCSEs whereas at its competitors they usually take 10 or 11. Obviously taking fewer GCSEs will result in a higher % of top grades. Other top schools (eg Alleyns) are moving to 9 GCSEs in future and I do suspect this is part of the reason.

Also as pp have said, the top top schools do tend to attract the insanely pushy parents or very competitive/driven kids. Which may not be what you want, at all.

Super selective schools also don’t necessarily have the best teachers or the best tracking systems or teaching of exam prep - they can rely a lot on the students’ own abilities and motivation so there is often a hands off approach, and a bad teacher may be able to skate by for quite a while.

To be honest if the schools are within say 30-40 places of each other on the tables then I would say that you shouldn’t let it swing your decision and you should choose instead on ethos, atmosphere, range of subjects, extra curriculars, journey etc.