Any insight into why LEH's A Level results plummeted this year?

[ThePlacesYouGo]

We were considering LEH for 11+ but already had some reservations (not least a new, untested Head, plus some cultural issues). Then we saw the A Level results which are dramatically down (both on the last comparable, non-Covid years eg 2019 and 2018, and even more drastically down on the past two years) which have really made us pause.

I'd be grateful if any parents with DDs at the school might be able to shed some light. Was it just a "blip" year (I know they do happen, though this one is pretty drastic) or is there something else going on?

“particular challenge for the selective schools like LEH that go through from 7 (or younger) as they effectively pick half their cohort at age 6/7”

If this is true (I don't know much about this school) 50% cohort from 7+ intake then yep it is much harder to control the quality of the public exam output for later stage, it would be more volatile. No matter how good the teachers are, the later the intake selection the higher correlation for the grades outcome.

Real life can be much harder for privately educated selective posh single sex students when they consider unis and jobs.
Unis are widening access all the time and increasingly so is the work place. There is far more emphasis on 'blind' applications in high powered companies.
Years ago my son worked for a while at the BBC. He mentioned that in his Department there were a couple of people from his Oxbridge college. The BBC has since made a big effort to recruit from a much wider range of unis. However, it has done my son no harm to go to a state comp, Cambridge and big industry.
LEH is seen as a niche, posh old fashioned girls school. It's one redeeming quality should be to guarantee outstanding academic results. It is well known that Waldegrave (local state comp) gets more proportionally into Oxbridge than LEH. It does leave a question mark about why LEH then?

"It is well known that Waldegrave (local state comp) gets more proportionally into Oxbridge than LEH. It does leave a question mark about why LEH then?"

Is it true though? A quick look up shows what Oxbridge intake Waldegrave is about 5% on a 200 pupil year group. LEH, even at its worse is 7-8% in 2023 and it was about 10+% in the previous years.

Yes agree employer should to more blind applicantions and wider access, that includes masking the university name such as oxbridge...

But also masking less prestigious universities. Even if you argue that LEH gives students a better chance of gaining a place at unis now this will not continue. We are on course for a Labour Government and there will be even more pressure from unis to recruit from state comprehensives. LEH is a bit of an anachronism today. It presents as posh, upper class girls school with a very traditional approach to education. I am not sure that this kind of school will survive over the next twenty years without significant changes

@circacircle not sure how posh, upper class or traditional LEH is - maybe it is true, I don't know the school well can only tell from the public information.

What the government should do is undone the funind gap crisis on state education sector, create better fair playing field for university admission, but not "force" in favor of student from state sector, it does no good.

Agree that it doesn't seem that posh or old-fashioned really. They don't seem to wear blazers, and students are very multi-cultural.

Also, I know people with daughters there and they seem to do plenty of STEM, coding, robotics, football, cadets etc. Maybe it's the name that makes it sound old-fashioned?

It does loads of good and a change of government will take this much further. There is talk that a Labour Government will outlaw independent schools having charity status. . The cost of private schools will go up and access to top universities will become more competitive for them.
This is going back a while but my niece was at a struggling inner city comp. Eton school provided summer schools and coaching to help her get a place at Oxford. Eton school is providing a non fee paying, selective school in the North of England. They are very keen to be seen as altruistic but I think any future Labour Government will crack down on schools like LEH

It is not "crack down" or any kind of force isn't it? It just provides with more support with those who needed most to create a fair playing field.

Is LEH in anyway altruistic? Does it provide summer schools or coaching for state school students in robotics? Doe it provide GCSE and A level coaching for local state schools?
It prides itself on being exclusive. It's intake is diverse in terms of race but not in terms of class. It is like Rishi Sunak and Winchester. Independent schools love wealthy parents but LEH like other independent schools does not do enough for the local community. It does not deserve to retain charitable status

I think it’s also just a hangover of its old reputation. I grew up in the area and it was known as the school for posh, rich but dim girls back then (80s/90s). I’m sure that’s not the case now though (no idea as I neither live in that area nor send my DC private)

https://www.lehs.org.uk/about/public-benefit-provision

You can check yourself, it is online.

If parents want exclusive then LEH is that in buckets but is not achieving the academic results it should for the fees it charges.

Academic results are more to do with intake ability than the education resource provided by the School. It is not a game of the more money you paid the better grade you get...

Hooray, I am impressed. Her is hoping all the little LEH girls end up at Feltham Sixth Form. LEH and Hampton are geographically closer to Felthan than Richmond. It is a really great idea and excellent preparation for Uni entrance. Feltham College will truly be mixed and not at all exclusive

The argument that it's more about ability than the school doesn't make a great advert for the school! But surely the intake for this last A level cohort was high ability? Girls were predicted high grades and lost Uni places due to lower than predicted results - see previous poster who's dd achieved A star x 2 + 1 x C - I imagine she was a 'high ability' student) So either the school was in denial and should have predicted lower grades, or the student was capable of all top grades, but something went wrong...

"The argument that it's more about ability than the school doesn't make a great advert for the school!"

Why would one make advert for the school? It is true for every single school.

How do you know they have a high ability intake for last sixth form?

Grades achieved are 'an advert/selling point' or whatever terminology one would want to use for a school. I'm not suggesting a literal advertisement! Private schools are businesses after all and must be acutely aware that top grades are a key requirement for their stakeholders and will keep their business model going.

I can't imagine that the cohort was anything but high ability. And if it wasn't high ability then why were so many students predicted top grades...and disappointed? If they were lower ability, then they should've been predicted lower and more realistic grades surely...?

Oxbridge

"why were so many students predicted top grades...and disappointed? If they were lower ability, then they should've been predicted lower and more realistic grades surely...?"

How do you know LEH have "so many students predicted top grades?"

Grade prediction always subject to margin of errors. All I know is this year a lot of schools (private and state) over predict the grades in general.

The university entrance in terms of "contextual offering" will had little preference on where the applicant did their sixth form college. It general look at where the applicant live in the past x years, where they completed their GCSE. So in general speaking a above average state comp school student who live in Richmond will not have any benifit from contextual offering at all, same as a Private school student who live in Richmond but do sixth form in Feltham.

How Oxbridge admissions purposely disadvantage applicants from private schools is simply destroying the country.

.... goes on to research Feltham College....

I wish we did not have to "think" about the private secondary option.

I don't know about this school, but some schools don't let their students stay into the sixth form if they don't perform sufficiently well at GCSE. Of course, this cohort didn't do externally-assessed GCSEs, so that weeding out may not have happened - it's rather harder to justify turning them down without that external assessment.

@lanthanum , LEH don't do this but a significant percentage join at age 7 so are assessed when they are in year 2 to join the school. The drop is more likely to be a weaker then normal cohort / complacent teaching. As others have said the gcse results this year are exceptional, 56% of all grades were a 9, 82% 8-9 (75% at Putney high).