why are bucks uppers so unreliable?

[kenyancowgirl]

But, you can look at all the data in the world and worry yourself senseless about average gcse grades of the high attainers and individual subject results grade by grade but NOTHING beats going and looking round a school and getting a feel for the place.

If all you care about is results then by all means create your own EXCEL spreadsheet logarithm to work out what school is best - for us, if our sons had not got in the GS they did, the other GS on offer was a no-no - despite (probably) scoring highly on results, results, results...the only other option for us was the local secondary school - it has good results for all children - not spectacular but there are always a few kids that come out with all As etc (isn't that the case of all schools - even the GS's don't have rafts of children coming out with 10 A*) but just had the loveliest feel about it - the teachers and head all knew all the kids and cared about them - we didn't get that feel from the second GS but a sheet of data wouldn't have commended the comp particularly.

[pippi]

An update... Cressex Community School in High Wycombe has just received a 'good' in its Ofsted, with an outstanding sixth form.

kittymum - given their intake the results at Cressex are amazing.

As in:

• The proportion of students who are disabled or who have special educational needs supported through school action or school action plus or who have statements of special education need is above average.
• The proportion of students known to be eligible for the pupil premium is above average.
• The proportion of students with English as an additional language is higher than the national average.
• The majority of students are of Pakistani heritage. The proportion of students from minority
  ethnic groups is well above average.
• An above average number of children are eligible for Year 7 catch up funding, which is for students who did not achieve the expected level in reading or mathematics at the end of Key Stage 2.
• There is a very small sixth form that offers one course for a group of students wishing to study Children’s Care, Learning and Development.