Guardian News
School league table success for mid Cheshire
2:03pm Monday 30th January 2012
PUPILS in mid Cheshire are performing above the national average, with one Northwich school keeping its place in the UK’s top 100 sixth forms for the sixth year running.
The Grange School, in Hartford, is celebrating its ranking in the Government’s school performance tables for A and AS Levels, with 100 per cent of pupils attaining three A Levels.
The independent school is also the best in Cheshire for the total of points per pupil, 1085.4, achieved by the 2011 A Level students.
Headteacher Christopher Jeffery said: “Having become one of the highest achieving schools in the country in recent years it has been especially rewarding to see students The Grange performing with such consistency.
“We are so proud of their achievements, but somewhat disappointed that this year’s tables don’t include any measure of the value added by their teachers in achieving such excellent results; in past years we have been placed in the Top 100 by such measures as well.”
Another Northwich sixth form, Sir John Deane’s College, has been ranked as Cheshire’s best state sector A Level provider, with 99 per cent of students achieving three A Levels and averaging 973 points per pupil.
Principal Andrew Jones said: “This is a fine result for Sir John Deane’s College and underlines our position as one of the country’s leading sixth form colleges.
“We are extremely pleased for last year’s students, who thoroughly deserved the success they achieved, and of course for our staff who have once again provided excellent teaching and support.
“Together, they have successfully upheld the SJD tradition for quality education and strong academic standards that spans across many generations of local people.”
The Grange School also tops the Cheshire league table for the percentage of pupils gaining five or more GCSEs at A* to C, with 99 per cent of pupils reaching the benchmark.
St Nicholas Catholic High School comes in at fifth place on the west Cheshire league table, with 77 per cent of pupils achieving the five A* to C GCSE grades.
The national average is 58.2 per cent, with the west Cheshire average at 59.5 per cent and the Cheshire East average at 64.4 per cent.
