School League Tables

We are often asked by parents which League Table is the most trustworthy. Although we are firmly of the belief that a school cannot be judged on academics alone, we thought it might be helpful to answer some common questions regarding league tables in the post below.

What is the most useful academic measure?

The two most popular comparative measures are GCSE and A level results.

Most schools publish the percentage of their students’ grades that are A*-A at GCSE, and A*-A/B at A level. Independent schools will naturally hope that the majority of their pupils score mostly As and A*s in both.

Keystone parents have tended to hope that around 75% of students’ grades at GCSE are A*-A, and around 65% of A level grades are A*-A.

To give you an idea, here are some representative schools from 2015:

School Name	% of GCSE A*-A	% of A level A*-A
St. Paul’s, Girls	99%	87%
Latymer Upper	92%	73%
Dulwich College	85.9%	63%
The Harrodian	61%	43%
Portland Place	35%	19%

The best way of comparing schools by these grades is to go onto the school’s individual websites, on which most of them list the last few years of such results, e.g. http://www.stpaulsschool.org.uk/st-pauls/academic/exam-results/a-level-summary-last-five-years

A few important points are worth bearing in mind:

1. Small year groups will mean that individual scores will have a disproportionate effect on the overall percentage. Francis Holland (SW1), for example, have 45 girls per year sitting GCSE and only 33 doing A level. North London Collegiate and St. Paul’s Girls, on the other hand, have over 100 girls per year group. This means that a B or a C at Francis Holland will pull the percentage down more than a B or a C at St. Paul’s or North London Collegiate, rare though those are…
2. Your child is not a percentage. The difference between a school in which 85% of children’s grades are A*s and one in which 90% are A*s is not statistically significant when it comes to your own child. Percentages should be seen as a general guide; it is then up to your child to transcend his or her statistical destiny!
3. What score best illustrates academic excellence? Anke makes a good point in her blog: “[My] ranking is based on the % of A* among all GCSE entries of the school. Why A* and not the more common ranking based on A-A*? Because there is a big difference between getting an A or an A* in terms of the mastery of the subject that is required, so only the percentage of A* gives us the true picture of the highest performing schools.” Again, remember that schools that promote a genuinely intellectual climate might have a range of other features (extra essay clubs, national or international academic competitions etc.) that do not show up in academic performance data. Another good measure for academic excellence is of course the number of Oxbridge offers won by a school’s pupils each year.
4. GCSE vs. A level. Many academically competitive schools have a selective intake into their 6th Form. This is also the period that King’s Wimbledon, Westminster and others bring girls into the school for the first time. This new intake, who are often more academically able on average than the pupils already at the school, explain why the A level results are often more impressive than the GCSE results.

Which are the most useful league tables?

If you want to avoid going through individual school websites, we would recommend the following league tables for comparing multiple schools at once.

GCSE League Table

• Best Schools: http://www.best-schools.co.uk/uk-school-league-tables/gcse-grades/

A Level League Table

• London PrePrep (London only): http://www.londonpreprep.com/2015/09/ranking-london-senior-schools-2015/
• Telegraph: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/leaguetables/11374651/A-level-school-league-tables-2014-compare-your-schools-performance.html#region/London
• Best Schools: http://www.best-schools.co.uk/uk-school-league-tables/a-level-passes/

Again, an important point to bear in mind:

1. Private schools whose pupils take the International (i)GCSE fared very badly in the latest data because the government decided that these would be excluded from government performance tables. This produces results such as the Telegraph’s GCSE table, in which private schools seem to underperform their state neighbours.
2. As the Best Schools site says, more than 50 independent schools have removed themselves from public league tables because they feel that it leads parents to make decisions based on data in the abstract without considering the full life of a school. The Best Schools site has tried to find as many of these results as possible, though.

How do you compare A levels with IB?

The IB continues to grow in popularity in UK independent schools.

The Department of Education uses a tariff, in which both A level and IB grades are given separate weightings. The tariff can be seen here (note the difference in weighting between IB and A level – in which a score of 30 on the IB equates to 3A*/1AS at A level) and the average pupil score is also often used as a good comparative measure for schools’ academics. The score can be seen on the school’s DfE profile here: http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/performance/ Look for "Average point score per academic student (full-time equivalent)".

Our general rule of thumb is that:

+800: good

+900: excellent

+1000: outstanding

In order to see how the Student Points Score compares to the average A level table, please see as follows. It might imply that Latymer Upper pupils are encouraged to do more A levels than St. Paul’s Girls, thereby giving them a relatively large number of points albeit a lower average grade.

School Name	% of A level A*-A	Points Score
St. Paul’s, Girls	87%	1066.9
Latymer Upper	73%	1027.4
Dulwich College	63%	994.3
The Harrodian	43%	873.0
Portland Place	19%	648.0

If you’re interested in comparing schools by academic result, it’s probably best to look at the individual schools’ websites as well as a range of data points and league tables.

If after reading the above you are only more mystified and have remaining questions, remember that we are always here to help!

Sign up to our newsletter to be kept up to date about our latest news and offerings.