SCHOOLS and education chiefs in York are celebrating the exam successes of pupils with the publication of Government league tables today.

According to data published by the Department of Education (DoE), schools and colleges in York, North and East Yorkshire have again performed strongly.

Among those celebrating top results are pupils at York's Fulford School which was the top state school in the city for it's A-level results and third for GCSE, with 82 per cent of pupils getting A*-C including English and maths.

At GCSE the school came behind private schools Bootham in first and The Mount in second with 85 per cent and 83 per cent respectively.

Fulford head teacher Lorna Savage said: "We're delighted with the results. It reflects the talent and hard work of everyone in the school community.

"For me the thing that this does really reinforce is the importance of Fulford School in the community and the need for our new development to go ahead."
The school's development plan - which includes their own sports hall - is up before the planning committee on February 19.

Across the city, the percentage of pupils gaining five or more A*–C grades at GCSE, including English and maths, is 62 per cent. This is six percentage points above the national average and places York in the top spot in the Yorkshire and Humber region.

National changes to the GCSE indicators and the exam system in 2014 mean that direct comparisons with the 2014 results and previous years is not straight forward.

For the first time in recent years, only a pupils first entry in a particular subject is allowed to count towards school’s performance data and there has also been a move away from continual assessment to exams at the end of two years’ study.

Nationally 330 schools failed to get 40 per cent of pupils gaining five good GCSEs including English and maths, and making the expected progress. There were none in York, but with 44 per cent and 42 per cent respectively, Canon Lee and York High Schools were close to the mark.

Canon Lee acting head teacher, Frances Johnston, said: "Although the results at Canon Lee  fell last year there were still many young people who did very well and in fact we have celebrated this with our GCSE Presentation Evening this week.

"Clearly the changes in the examination system this year had a big impact at Canon Lee, and we agree with Glenys Stacey  Ofqual's Chief Executive when she stated that: 'direct comparisons cannot be made from last year because you wouldn’t be comparing like for like.’

"The vast majority of our students succeeded in moving onto their chosen further education or training destination and we are immensely proud of how they are all doing.

"It was a pleasure to work with them in my first year at Canon Lee and we continue to regard them as part of the Canon Lee Community."

Meanwhile some top private schools ended up bottom of the tables which, in York, included St Peter's, which ranked 13th out of 13.

This is due to the fact that, in some independent schools - St Peter's included - pupils have continued to be entered for IGCSEs - International GCSEs.

St Peter's head teacher, Leo Winkley, said: "I'm very happy to be bottom of this particular table - it's a clear statement that something must be wrong with the tables."
He said that including GCSEs and IGCSEs the school had 98 per cent of pupils getting A*-C including maths and English.

Cllr Janet Looker, cabinet member for education, said: “I would like to congratulate pupils and their families, teaching staff and school governors for their efforts in achieving these excellent results. Of course, behind the statistics are the real stories of personal achievement and I’m delighted that so many young people in York have achieved their personal goals.”

Jon Stonehouse, Director of Children’s Services, Education and Skills, City of York Council, said: “These results place York secondary schools amongst the best in the country in a year which has seen some significant changes to the examination system.”

Meanwhile in North Yorkshire, at GCSE 61 per cent of pupils achieved 5 A*-C results including English and maths, more than four percentage points above the national average, putting both York and North Yorkshire in the top 20 Local Authorities nationally.

At A level the authority ranked 24th in the country for A level points per students (813.6). Nearly 23% per cent of North Yorkshire students gained at least three A levels or equivalent, at AAB grades which are needed for entry to many prestigious universities in comparison with national figure of 17.4%.

“As always schools in North Yorkshire work extremely hard and effectively to prepare our young people very well for their next steps into training or further and higher education,” said County Councillor Arthur Barker, North Yorkshire’s Executive Member for Schools.

“These performance tables show that our schools continue to perform strongly compared to other areas of the country. This means young people are able to access the full range of choices, including entry to the top universities. These results also show that strong partnerships between schools and between schools and the local authority continue to maintain high standards.

“The local authority is ambitious for its schools and is working with them to ensure that each and every one of North Yorkshire’s children and young people can attend a good or outstanding school.  We are determined that all, including those who are most disadvantaged and vulnerable, will leave school having benefited from a broad and enriched education with the qualifications which will create the best opportunities for their future careers.”


A full list of local schools can be found in our Local Information section: