Schools 'must do better'

12:02am Thursday 10th January 2008

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The county's education chief has said there is still room for improvement in schools, despite stronger GCSE results.

New Government figures published today show that last summer, 48.1 per cent of the county's pupils achieved five or more A* to C grades, including maths and English, compared with 46.7 per cent nationally.

The previous year 47.5 per cent achieved five or more A* to C grades, including English and maths, compared with 45.8 per cent nationally.

However, Michael Waine, the county council's cabinet member for schools improvement, described the overall position as "less than satisfactory" and suggested A-Level results should get better.

He said: "While overall our GCSE performance more or less follows the national pattern, we must and will perform better than average.

"At A-Level, the pattern is similar and while there are some great examples of individual pupil and school success, the overall position is less than satisfactory and we should, again, be seeking performance which exceeds national averages."

Topping the county's GCSE results for the second year running was the independent girls' school of St Helen and St Katharine, in Abingdon, where pupils again achieved a 100 per cent pass rate.

Schools which made significant progress in GCSE results last year included Bartholomew School, in Eynsham, which increased its pass rate to 73 per cent from 2006's 63 per cent.

For the second year, the league tables showed the GCSE and A-Level results alongside truancy rates and the school's value added score (CVA).

The CVA score measures the progress pupils have made from the end of primary school to the age of 16.

On the basis of the CVA measure, only two Oxfordshire schools, Cheney School and Cherwell School in Oxford, were in the top 25 per cent of all schools nationally.

A year ago, the county had 13 schools in this bracket.

Jill Judson, headteacher of Cherwell School, said: "I know, having been a headteacher at a grammar school, that they often, and quite rightly, achieve consistently high results.

"But CVA is fairer, when you take into account the value that a school adds to pupils from year six, or key stage two, right through to the end of their compulsory education at key stage four."

The percentage of students at Peers School, in Littlemore, to gain five or more GCSE at A* to C fell from 19 per cent to 11 per cent. This followed the school being taken out of special measures last year.

But Oxford Community School saw a one per cent increase in its pass rates, up from 26 per cent to 27 per cent.

Truancy figures also released today revealed Larkmead School in Abingdon had the highest rates of unauthorised absences from Oxfordshire's secondary schools.

The figures are based on the percentage of unauthorised half day absences at each school.

Larkmead saw an increase from the previous year's truancy rates, of 2.6 per cent of half-days missed, to 2.8 per cent, double the national average for half-days missed of 1.4 per cent.

But deputy headteacher John Dennett said the school has taken steps to improve attendance rates: "We have an attendance noticeboard with each individual pupil's rates on - this puts the onus on them to improve.

"We also run incentives. The tutor group with the highest attendance rates will receive a prize."

Oxford's Peers School also has higher than average truancy levels.

The school, however, saw figures fall from 3.4 per cent of half-days missed to two per cent. "Last year a tutor group went bowling and then out for a meal. We also have an attendance officer who monitors absences.

"We need to distinguish between unauthorised absences (which includes holiday taken during term-time) and truancy. There is a difference which is not shown in the tables.

"According to the way that the school measures these absences, we have made significant improvements over the past 18 months."