SCHOOL RESULTS BOOST
Castle Vale School has had a boost to its morale following the publication of the national ‘Value added ‘ scores to its GCSE results. ‘Value Added’ is designed to show how much pupils have improved in their subjects from the time they start school in Year 7, to the time they leave in Year 11. This year, the school achieved a value added score of 998.5. This has increased by 71 points in three years, and has now almost reached the 1,000 figure that is expected of successful schools.
Many experts see the ‘value added’ score as a far better judge of a school’s performance than the GCSE league tables that compare schools with each other with little or no consideration of their background. Many city schools fail to compete with their more affluent suburban neighbours in leafy Solihull and Four Oaks, for example.
News of the ‘value added’ scores is particularly welcome, following some disappointments with the summer’s GCSE results. The headline figure of 5 A-C (high-grade)GCSE score of 45% percent, though similar to last year’s performance, fell short of the school’s own target of 60%. The raw mark of 45% puts Castle Vale below the average for Birmingham schools, which are themselves below the national average. The ‘value-added’ scores indicate that Castle Vale School is in the country’s top 25% for the progress it makes with students as they progress from Year 9 (age 14) to Year 11 (age 16).
Despite the disappointing GCSE average, some individual students achieved outstanding results, notably 16 year-old Shuk Fan Chan, who scored 7 A*grades, 5 A’s and 1 B. Students Rachel Taylor, Reiss Smith and Bodean Pye also excelled.
Headteacher Clive Owen said: “We had hoped for a higher headline figure of 5 A*-C passes and this was a disappointment, but we are pleased with the results overall and know that there are some outstanding results to come in the future. With well over 90% of our students achieving 5 passes at GCSE the future looks bright for Castle Vale. The numbers of children failing to progress to either A-levels or a vocational college course, training or employment will be very low, and this bodes well for future employment prospects for those who live on the Vale.”
