SCHOOLS in Colchester are still outperforming others at GCSE level despite changes to the grading system.

Figures have been released for Progress 8 and Attainment 8 scores for schools across Essex. This year’s GCSE exams were the first to be graded under the new system.

Colchester County High School for Girls performed way above average in Progress 8. They scored the highest in Essex with a well above average score of 0.91.

Students also scored 80.5 in attainment levels, which is an average reflection of the overall performance of all pupils.

The Attainment 8 score for Essex is 46.4 compared to 46.1 nationally.

A spokesman said: “The school is delighted to have been placed top for Attainment 8 and top for Progress 8 among all Essex schools. It also ranks eighth nationally for Attainment 8.

“The school has a Progress 8 score of 0.91, which is particularly pleasing given that students join us already achieving at a high level.”

Head teacher Gillian Marshall said this achievement was thanks to the dedication of staff and students and the support of their families and the wider school community.

St Helena School was just above average for Progress 8 with a score of -0.05. The attainment score was close to average with a score of 44.

Justin Kellett, deputy headteacher, said he was pleased overall with students’ grades.

He said: “I think for us we are pleased with the results this year, we had a great number of students achieving English and maths than we have in a number of years.

“This system is a fairer measure as it does take into account students’ starting points.

“One issue that a number of headteachers has raised is that Progress 8 does not remove any extreme outliers, one individual can have a noticeable effect on the school’s score.

“From a parent’s perspective my concern would be looking at a school on a minus figure and thinking it’s terrible when really there is not much difference.”

Pupils at Colchester Royal Grammar School had a below average progress score, but headteacher John Russell said it was not a useful measure which has been released.

He said: “The main concern I have regarding the measures is they do not take into account other GCSE equivalent qualifications.

“This will provide a misleading picture of relative performance and also put pressure on schools to deliver certain qualifications, which may or may not be in the best interest of the students.

“We teach IGCSE English Literature, which is a challenging course and quite appropriate for our students. In their wisdom, the Government no longer count IGCSE qualifications in the league table measures.”

The school did score above average in attainment, and Mr Russell said he was pleased with the students achievements.

He said: “They have worked hard and have always done so and their results are outstanding. The introduction of A8 and P8 has had no impact on this or the work of the students.”

Under the new system some schools are rated as performing below average in both categories.

The Gilberd School was above average for Progress 8 and scored 50 in attainment.

The Stanway School also scored just above average in progress levels, and scored above average in attainment with a score of 49.

Colchester Academy was slightly above average for progress and scored 43 for attainment.

St Benedict’s Catholic College was slightly above average in progress and scored 50 for attainment.

The Thomas, Lord Audley School was also slightly above average for progress but scored 41 for attainment.

Philip Morant School and College was below average for progress but scored 46 for attainment.

How does the new grading system work?

THE Progress 8 score shows how much progress pupils have made between the end of Key Stage 2 (Year 6) and the end of Key Stage 4 (Year 11), based on results in up to eight qualifications.

A score above zero means pupils made more progress, on average,

than pupils across England who got similar results at the end of Key

Stage 2.

A negative progress score does not mean pupils made no progress, it

means they made less progress than others across England.

Attainment 8 is based on how well pupils performed in up to eight

qualifications. Points are added up and then divided by 10 to get their

score. A school’s Attainment 8 score is the average of all students’ scores.