New tables measure Cambridgeshire schools' progress

Chesterton Community College is one of the highest performing schools in the country, according to the latest secondary school league tables.

The secondary school league tables feature the results of the first pupils to sit new, tougher GCSEs in English and maths.

Schools are judged by two new measures, Progress 8 and Attainment 8. The data shows how many schools have missed the government’s floor standard of -0.5 in Progress 8 in last summer’s GCSEs.

The progress students make at Chesterton places them 14th out of more than 6,000 schools in the UK – and top in Cambridgeshire.

Headteacher Lucy Scott, who is also chief executive officer of Cambridgeshire Educational Trust, is thrilled with the school’s results.

“We are particularly pleased that all groups of students, regardless of starting point, have achieved equally well,” she said. “Our maxim is ‘realising potential’ and we are delighted that so many students have realised their potential during their time with us.”

Ofsted recently graded Chesterton Community College as ‘outstanding’, making special mention of the fact that “pupils are set ambitious academic targets. They have a hunger to succeed and go about their learning with great enthusiasm, often seeking to exceed challenging individual targets”.

The league tables also show Chesterton has the highest number of students achieving both good and standard passes in the whole of Cambridgeshire with 92 per cent of students gaining a pass in both English and maths this year.

Mrs Scott added: “Chesterton is delighted to have been able to support its students to achieve such outstanding results. We are lucky to have incredibly dedicated staff and students who always try their best.”

Both Progress 8 and Attainment 8 focus on the results of a pupil’s best eight GCSE results including English and maths.

In schools where pupils failed to progress to the expected level (-0.5 or below in Progress 8), they were getting around half a GCSE grade worse than they could have done, based on end of primary school results.

Comberton Sixth Form is the highest performing state-funded post-16 provider in the county, based on its progress score. The value-added score of 0.31 places Comberton in the top five per cent nationally for all post-16 providers.

Deputy head of school, Sean Sycamore, said: “This is what true, high-quality comprehensive education is all about: all pupils of all types and all abilities making excellent progress in the same educational establishment. ‘Excellence for all’ is at the heart of what we seek to do.”