The Sunday Times Parent Power Rankings Preview

[LondonParents]

Some of the schools have reported detailed GCSE and A-level results so we can now calculate the upcoming rankings for the Times Parent Power Rankings. SPGS has not reported enough detail on its A-level results. Mostly likely, it will rank anywhere from 5th to 2nd place. The table so far...

When do the ST Parent Power rankings come out? It’s a funny one, the schools listed are pretty much always in the top 10 or so. I remember an old headmaster at my children’s prep school saying that once you are looking at schools in the top 50 then there’s not all that much between them - go with the one that will suit your child the best.

December

There's also so much behind the figures - some schools discourage students from taking an exam that they don't expect them to do well in for example. That's not the type of school I'd want my DC attending. Sometimes the best schools are not the ones that are topping the league tables.

Do they use any prior attaintment in their statistics? Because frankly, if you select the top pupils at 11, you would exoect top GCSEs.

No, they do not.

I don’t find prior attainment a valuable metric when assessing children who’s parents are equally well educated and aiming for top schools.