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Westminster Academy students Uraine Mudiliyar, 16, and Rubecca Begum, 15 |
GCSE success academies to come off ‘failing’ hit list
Relief for schools as pupils achieve much-improved exam grades
WESTMINSTER pupils celebrated record GCSE results yesterday (Thursday) after weeks of revision finally paid off with a haul of top grades.
Both Westminster and Paddington academies, which replaced North Westminster Community School in 2006, improved on last year’s disappointing results.
It means both academies will be taken off a hit list of schools dubbed “failing” in May by education minister Ed Balls.
He said all schools with fewer than 30 per cent of pupils scoring five A*-C GCSE grades, including English and maths, would be shut in 2010.
Westminster Academy pupil Moniba Mokaddem, 16, dedicated her A, B and C grades to her “spacious” new school building, which has won a design award.
“It is really spacious and the old building was very cramped,” she said. “The technology facilities are really good. I have got what I needed and I can go on and do biology, chemistry and psychology A-levels now.”
Smita Bora, who replaced Alison Banks as the new headteacher of Westminster Academy this week, said: “I am absolutely delighted with the results. Forty per cent of pupils scored five A*-Cs – up from 23 per cent last year. It shows real progress. One of the things I am most pleased about is that so many of our students will progress into our new diploma programme next year.”
Westminster Academy is the first state school in Westminster to adopt the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma program, an alternative to A-levels. Academy schools do not have to follow national guidelines on curriculum and have been criticised for using pupils as “guinea pigs” with experimental teaching techniques.
The International Diploma is used in more than 2,000 schools across Europe and is expected to become the leading university entrance course in this country.
Ms Bora said: “We are recognising through adopting the IB that students must be prepared for a globalised society. They need qualifications that can be used all around the world. The curriculum should prepare students for the 21st century. We feel the diploma will do that.”
Paddington Academy, which is sponsored by the Anglican charity the United Learning Trust, this week announced it had raised its average score to 42 per cent.
Principal Phil Hearne said: “I am absolutely delighted with our GCSE results. More than twice the number of students are achieving five A* to C grades including English and maths than they did at the academy’s predecessor school.”
Results across Westminster improved, with Pimlico pupils scoring a 44 per cent average compared to last year’s 37 per cent.
Westminster City School leaped from a disappointing 41 per cent average last year to 56 per cent.
St Marylebone School is the top performing school in Westminster with 83 per cent of pupils hitting the benchmark. |
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Your comments:
BUT this is wrong. Westminster Academy scored less than 20% 5A-C including english and maths - they are still failing and will continue to with such a leadership.
A. Lovit |
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