News

Each summer, when exam results are published and school performance tables appear in the media, it is natural for parents to want to understand how your child’s school compares nationally. However, the way those figures are calculated can sometimes tell only part of the story – particularly for independent schools like St. Francis’ College.

Outstanding GCSE Success

This year, as you will have seen from our publications and posts since August, our pupils once again achieved exceptional public examinations results at both A Level and GCSE. At GCSE level, our results were as follows:

· 57.7% grade 9–8 (equivalent to A*)

· 70.1% grade 9–7 (A* or A)

· 98% grade 9-4 (A*- C)

These achievements reflect not only our pupils’ hard work but also the strength of teaching, the depth of pastoral support, and the individual attention that defines St. Francis’ College independent education.

We are immensely proud of these results, which sit significantly above the other most successful local schools.

Why do independent schools with better results sometimes rank lower in national performance tables?

You may have noticed that, despite such impressive results, some league tables or DfE statistics place independent schools below local state schools on certain national measures such as Attainment 8 or Progress 8. This can seem confusing – but the reason lies not in pupil performance, but in how those measures are calculated.

IGCSEs

Many independent schools, including ours, choose to offer IGCSEs (International GCSEs) in some subjects. These are rigorous, globally respected qualifications that are often preferred by universities and employers because of their breadth and depth. However, the Department for Education (DfE) in its wisdom does not include IGCSEs in its performance measures such as Attainment 8 or Progress 8.

That means, quite simply, that our pupils’ outstanding results in those subjects don’t “count” in the government’s statistics. As a result, our headline scores on those national tables can appear artificially lower – even when our pupils are achieving far higher grades overall.

One such article, published recently in the Comet (https://www.thecomet.net/news/25571668.stevenage-secondary-schools-ranked-gcse-results-2024-25/) , which I know will have been read by a number of our parents, truthfully paints a very misleading picture.

St. Francis’ College is quoted as per DfE statistics as having an Attainment 8 score of 56.7. (More information on Attainment 8 calculations can be found here: Attainment 8 Explained. )

This score is quoted as being lower than other local schools in St. Christopher’s, Hitchin Girls, Hitchin Boys, and John Henry Newman.

However, when we include our English Language IGCSE, as should be the case, this figure immediately rises to 70.4, significantly higher than the other schools cited.

Another government yardstick is the Level Two Threshold of 5 GCSEs at grades 4 and above. Again, this excludes IGCSEs, and St. Francis’ is credited with 73.2% according to the aforementioned article, with the actual figure being 97.5%.

What is Value Added?

“Value added” is another term often used in performance discussions. It measures the progress pupils make from the start of secondary school to their final GCSE results. This is undoubtedly an incredibly value statistic, but nationally it is again based on DfE data that excludes IGCSEs, and it assumes all schools follow the same curriculum and assessment model.

Whilst state schools tend to adopt the ALPS or CAT4 baseline testing alongside Key Stage 2 scaling, leading to a Progress 8 score, most independent schools, St. Francis’ included, tend to use CEM Baseline Data in the form of MisYis, Yellis, and ALIS testing. Our outstanding 2025 GCSE results highlighted not only outstanding attainment, but also equally impressive progress. Students achieved on average one whole grade per subject above anticipated outcomes based on their respective start point. This is an incredibly impressive achievement, which is testament to the hard work of students and their support of their teachers.

In Summary:

· Our GCSE results remain among the strongest in the local area and well above national averages.

· IGCSEs – though excluded from DfE statistics—are rigorous, internationally respected qualifications.

· Apparent differences in Attainment 8 scores reflect technical government exclusions, not lower performance. Indeed many larger and higher profile independent schools than St. Francis’ score lower still in DfE tables in spite of superior results.

· Our focus remains on delivering exceptional outcomes – both academic and personal – that prepare pupils for life beyond school.

We encourage parents to look beyond face value of the reporting of some attainment measures and see the full picture of what our pupils achieve. Our results, and the young people behind them, speak for themselves.

If you would like to discuss any of these matters further, please do get in touch.