The Department for Education has today released the ‘Statistical First Release’ of results for GCSE and other regulated qualifications.
It’s not looking good for young people in many parts of the UK, but is particularly bad on the Isle of Wight. We know that many teachers and pupils worked very hard to receive some excellent results.
We’ll be asking the Isle of Wight council, as the local education authority, to explain how these results could have happened.
Well below National average
The National average for pupils achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C, excluding Maths and English is 82.7%, the Isle of Wight scored 71.3%.
This puts the Isle of Wight at the bottom of the league table.
The National average for pupils achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C, including maths and English is 58.6%. The Isle of Wight sits second from the bottom of the table of all local authorities with just 44.3%. Only Knowsley in Merseyside ranked lower.
English comparison tables
Percentage of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 achieving at GCSE and equivalents: 5+ A*-C grades
| Top | |
| Isles of Scilly | 100 |
| Sutton | 93 |
| Bromley | 92.9 |
| Bottom | |
| Lewisham | 73.3 |
| Norfolk | 73.1 |
| Knowsley | 72.5 |
| Isle of Wight | 71.3 |
Percentage of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 achieving at GCSE and equivalents: 5+ A*-C grades inc. English & Mathematics GCSEs
| Top | |
| Isles of Scilly | 86.4 |
| Kensington and Chelsea | 78.6 |
| Sutton | 75.7 |
| Trafford | 72.2 |
| Bottom | |
| Kingston upon Hull, City of | 47.2 |
| Barnsley | 44.9 |
| Isle of Wight | 44.3 |
| Knowsley | 40.8 |
Criticism of KS1/2 results
The news comes in the wake of harsh criticism of the KS1 and KS2 results as reported by On The Wight earlier in the week.
Look out for follow-up articles further to last night’s full council meeting.
Seven years tracked
Looking at the pattern of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C, excluding maths and English since the current Conservative administration came into power, makes for interesting reading.
2005/06 – 10th from bottom of table
2006/07 – 19th from bottom of table
2007/08 – 9th from bottom of table
2008/09 – bottom of table
2009/10 – 16th from bottom of table
2010/11 – 10th from bottom of table
2011/12 – bottom of table
The figures below show a dramatic decline in the numbers of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C, including maths and English since 2005.
2005/06 – 32nd from bottom of table
2006/07 – 56th from bottom of table
2007/08 – 30th from bottom of table
2008/09 – 14th from bottom of table
2009/10 – 9th from bottom of table
2010/11 – 10th from bottom of table
2011/12 – 2nd from bottom of table
What is ‘Statistical First Release’?
The figures form what the Government call the ‘Statistical First Release’ which effectively gives an early indication of the overall achievements of young people in GCSE examinations and other regulated qualifications in 2011/12.
This data is checked by schools and validated after which a formal release will follow. We’ll let you know when this comes out.
Edit: 13:50: Added tables showing IW position
Image: Alex E Proimus under CC BY 2.0
