Slough Grammars - Historical Data on Final Offers

[Humble Parent]

I think it has been proven several times that 11 plus score has little effect on results down the line, so I wouldn't worry too much.

scary mum,
Is it just a hearsay that you are quoting. If not , then please post a link about any article which says so, our forum readers will be enlightened.

Somewhere on this site there is (was) the data from KEGS which they used to determine their inner area. IT showed no correlation between scores and subsequent performance, but a loose negative correlation between distances travelled (at the extreme) and GCSE scores, probably because DC were exhausted! Several posters have commented that a number of heads have mentioned the lack of correlation between 11+ score and subsequent results at their open days this year, but as I was not there I cannot corroborate. Certainly at DDs' school there is no correlation, performance on more than one day, application and a wide range of abilities all factoring in.

Hi Mad,
At KEGS , none of the kids enters with a low score. It's very competitive there and maybe all seats are filled,within maximum 2 or 3 marks of each other. There all kids are of same ability almost. Hence, all are bound to score high or at par in their GSCE or ALevels.

[ToadMum]

Hi Mad,
At KEGS , none of the kids enters with a low score. It's very competitive there and maybe all seats are filled,within maximum 2 or 3 marks of each other. There all kids are of same ability almost. Hence, all are bound to score high or at par in their GSCE or ALevels.[/quote]

Um, no, they do not all enter within two or three marks of each other, either raw score or standardised - read the Essex 'post scores here' and 'Collated cut-offs' threads.

But yes, they've all at least reached a certain standard in the exam.

[scary mum]

And with Slough (or Bucks) we aren't talking about a super-selective.

[Foreseer]

The comments in this forum gave me an impression that grammar schools in slough are very competitive and very selective. But when I looked at both the A-level (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/20 ... e-schools/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) and GCSE league tables (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/educa ... 11931.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;), surprisingly none of these slough schools is on the lists ... except Langley but its rank is close to 70-100, no where near the top though. I wonder what is the reason behind this "phenomenon"??? Any ideas?

[ssb]

True. I am also puzzled by this.

Herschel Grammar School & Upton Court Grammar School from Slough are having outstanding OFSTED ratings but not in TOP GCSE and A-Levels.

whereas Nonsuch High School for Girls and Wallington High School for Girls rated only GOOD by OFSTED but they are in TOP 20 and 30 in GCSE and A-Levels.

GCSE league tables (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/educa ... 11931.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

A-Levels (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/20 ... e-schools/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

[Tinkers]

A lot depends on when they were inspected by OFSTED. 'Outstanding' is getting more difficult to get these days apparently.

It's also not the case that good results = an excellent OFSTED report. It doesn't.

[scary mum]

True. I am also puzzled by this.

Herschel Grammar School & Upton Court Grammar School from Slough are having outstanding OFSTED ratings but not in TOP GCSE and A-Levels.

whereas Nonsuch High School for Girls and Wallington High School for Girls rated only GOOD by OFSTED but they are in TOP 20 and 30 in GCSE and A-Levels.

GCSE league tables (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/educa ... 11931.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

A-Levels (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/20 ... e-schools/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

Those schools are probably a lot more selective in the first place & are therefore choosing children who have proved that they are good at exams.

[ssb]

Certainly not ...

In Slough consortium there are 535 places and this year 4009 children sat for the test. i.e 1:7.5 ratio

In Sutton area( Nonsuch High School for Girls , Wallington High School for Girls plus other schools) there are 870 places and approx 5000 children taken the test. i.e 1:5.75 ratio

The numbers indicate which one is more selective !!!

[ToadMum]

There are several subdivisions to the OFSTED rating and very few schools in the country are rated Outstanding in all of them (DD's school was, by the way, albeit back in December 2011 - a non-superselective GS which wouldn't appeal to many on here due to its failure to push any more students into Oxbridge / Medical school than have the actual desire to go there). So a school which is 'only' Good overall may have some pertinent Outstanding features and vice versa.

ETA ditto DS2's school (OFSTED report, Dec 2014 this time, and probable lack of desirability in the eyes of some).

[Stroller]

From a layman's perspective, Outstanding means schools are on top of their paperwork and policies, do their very best with the intake they have and keep trying to improve. A school that does a great job for children from poor or difficult backgrounds can be outstanding. It doesn't mean every child will have amazing exam results.

The biggest predictor of a child's educational success is the educational attainment of the parents and in particular of the parent or guardian who spends most time with the child. Disadvantage is hard to overcome. The demographics of a school are relevant. If most of the neighbourhood speaks English nicely as a first language, the primary school's starting point is a bit easier.

Achievement gaps happen before children ever attend school. Closing the gap is extremely difficult, because all children continue to learn. Here's recent news coverage of the problem:
Poorer pupils lag by almost two years
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-38052689" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;