Nine secondary schools in Brent are performing well above the national average, according to the latest figures from the Department for Education (DfE). A school run by ‘Britain’s strictest headmistress’ is the best performing school in the borough, based on Progress 8 scores.
Released earlier this month (October 19), Progress 8 scores are used to assess the academic performance of schools and pupils at GCSE level.They have measured and tracked the progress of students' at 30 schools in the borough, from when they leave primary school to when they achieve their GCSE results.
Introduced in 2016, it replaced the way in which secondary schools were previously ranked because it was deemed unfair - where it was measured according to the percentage of children who achieved five A* to C grades. Progress 8 scores are said to provide a more "rounded picture" of the range of subjects being studied and be more reliable.
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Progress 8 scores show how a child has progressed from the end of Year 6 to Year 11, when compared to students across England who got similar results at the end of Year 6. A score between 0 to 0.5 means the school performed above the national average, while scores above 0.5 means a school performed ‘well above’ the national average.
A school with a score below 0 means students made less progress when compared to the national average. Negative scores don't mean pupils haven’t made progress, it simply means they have progressed less than the national average.
In Brent, the highest-performing secondary school based on Progress 8 scores for the academic year 2022/23 was Michaela Community School - with a well-above average score of 2.37. Run by ‘Britain's strictest Headmistress’, Katharine Birbalsingh, the school has faced criticism for its uncompromising approach to discipline.
Of the 30 schools reported on, 15 were found to be performing at or above average compared to the rest of the country. The nine best-performing schools in Brent based on their Progress 8 scores are:
- Michaela Community School: 2.37
- JFS: 1.19
- Wembley High Technology College: 1.13
- Alperton Community School: 0.81
- Ark Elvin Academy: 0.68
- Claremont High School: 0.62
- Ark Academy: 0.59
- St Gregory’s Catholic Science College: 0.53
- Saint Claudine’s Catholic School for Girls: 0.51
The government does not publish Progress 8 data for independent schools and independent special schools. A full breakdown of Brent’s Progress 8 scores are available to view here .
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