This in from the council, in their own words, Ed
Provisional GCSE results show a significant improvement for the Isle of Wight, with the overall proportion of pupils achieving five A*-C GCSE passes, including English and mathematics, rising by 3% from 2014.
The early results reported by the Island’s six secondary schools show that 48% of pupils achieved five A*-C GCSE passes, including English and mathematics, up from 45% in 2014.
Slight improvement nationally
Limited national information is available at the time of going to press, but early indications are of a slight improvement from the 2014 national figure of 56.6%, for the same measure.
There has also been an increase in the proportion of Isle of Wight pupils achieving grade C and above in mathematics and English as separate subjects, both improving by 2% to 61% and 64% respectively.
Around 1,500 pupils on the Island sat GCSE exams this summer.
New measures from next year
The achievement of five or more A* – C grades including mathematics and English is still the government target for pupils at the end of Key Stage 4 (aged 16) this year, although new measures will be in place from 2016.
Achieving this benchmark prepares young people for post-16 education and training opportunities.
When the official results are published later in the autumn, schools will also be judged against some new targets, including the progress that children have made in English and mathematics, and their performance in their “best eight” subjects.
All should be praised for their achievements
Commenting, Councillor Jonathan Bacon, Leader of the Isle of Wight Council and, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, said:
“All those who sat GCSE and vocational examinations should be praised for their achievements. Their results are a true testament to all the hard work and dedication of pupils, parents, teachers and school staff this year.
“I am pleased that GCSE results on the Island have now started to improve and, despite the increasing rigour of the examinations, the Isle of Wight is beginning to close the gap with national outcomes. These results demonstrate that our approach is working; building upon our strengths across the Island each year. We are striving to bring the Island in line with the national average by next year.
“Some schools are celebrating really good results this year, although for some there is still some way to go, and these early results help us and academy sponsors, to plan for how we can help those schools that need it, to seek for further improvements Island-wide next year.
We will continue to drive improvements over the coming academic year with our partners in Hampshire, to ensure that our children and young people have access to the best education, the best opportunities and the best results to support their futures, Island-wide.”
