Schools falling below GCSE national average (From Ledbury Reporter)

Schools falling below GCSE national average

1:25pm Friday 25th January 2013 in News

SCHOOLS in Herefordshire are falling below the national benchmark for GCSE results, according to the latest figures.

The percentage of county pupils achieving five or more A* to C grades at GCSE or equivalent, including English and maths, fell from 57.5 per cent in 2011 to 56.5 per cent in 2012.

This is below the national average for the same benchmark of 59.4 per cent, according to secondary school league tables released by the Department for Education this week.

It is feared some schools' results were marred by last year’s English GCSE marking fiasco, where grade boundaries for summer examinations were changed at the last minute.

John Masefield High School in Ledbury saw 61 per cent of its pupils achieve five or more A* to C grades at GCSE or equivalent, including English and maths - down two per cent on 2011.

At Queen Elizabeth Humanities College in Bromyard, 65 per cent of pupils hit the benchmark in 2012, compared with 75 per cent the year before.