Financial Times - Top 1000 Schools

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no_ball

Financial Times - Top 1000 Schools

Post by no_ball »

Just out shopping this evening and in today's FT is a report on the top 1000 schools in the UK; Independent or state
moseleymum
Posts: 659
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2008 8:59 pm

Re: Financial Times - Top 1000 Schools

Post by moseleymum »

Yes I saw it here:

http://rankings.ft.com/secondary-school ... hools-2011" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Not sure how to interpret it. KES is 41st KEHS 45th, Camp Hill Girls is 80th and Camp Hill Boys is 120th.
no_ball

Re: Financial Times - Top 1000 Schools

Post by no_ball »

KES is better than KECH?
moseleymum
Posts: 659
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2008 8:59 pm

Re: Financial Times - Top 1000 Schools

Post by moseleymum »

I don't know - I just used the link! :D

I'm very wary of these tables - "the best" doesn't always mean what's best for my son as an individual - will the school offer what HE needs and where he will be happy?
moseleymum
Posts: 659
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2008 8:59 pm

Re: Financial Times - Top 1000 Schools

Post by moseleymum »

no_ball wrote:KES is better than KECH?
I'm surprised you're surprised by that :D

Things change each year on all tables, (http://rankings.ft.com/secondary-schools/rankings" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). I know this year's Camp Hill boys underperformed so maybe that's skewed the results?
um
Posts: 2378
Joined: Sat May 30, 2009 1:06 pm
Location: Birmingham

Re: Financial Times - Top 1000 Schools

Post by um »

Yes, last year's CH A levels were apparently very disappointing ... my ds1 couldn't understand why the school was in the fits of gloom over this when quite a few boys walked out with 3 or 4 A*s! and many attained top uni places. Not many schools would be getting so upset about that... but yes there was certainly a dip and you can see this in the tables. Hopefully all will right itself again next year.

It is important to note that these tables are A level/IB rankings only. I imagine more than a few top KE Grammar students are 'poached' after GCSE to take up their 6th form studies at KES.
no_ball

Re: Financial Times - Top 1000 Schools

Post by no_ball »

Surprised at how far ahead KES is compared to KECH that's all. There are rumpled that KECH may also be going IB, but these need to be substantiated of course. But yes, all roads seem to lead to KES and this report may just be the tipping weight
KES Parent

Re: Financial Times - Top 1000 Schools

Post by KES Parent »

Of course KES is better than KECH. If it wasn't no-one would ever turn down a place at KECH (free) to take up a place at KES (£65,000+ over 7 years). KES isn't entirely filled up with boys who couldn't get into KECH, as last year's A Level results demonstrate quite nicely.
moseleymum
Posts: 659
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2008 8:59 pm

Re: Financial Times - Top 1000 Schools

Post by moseleymum »

no_ball wrote:Surprised at how far ahead KES is compared to KECH that's all. There are rumpled that KECH may also be going IB, but these need to be substantiated of course. But yes, all roads seem to lead to KES and this report may just be the tipping weight

no_ball - I am sure you will make the best decision for your situation but here's where my DH and I stand.

"The best" school is not as important as what is best for the individual child based on his/her strengths. Factoring money out of this, there are many things the tables do not show. We are a science orientated family, generation after generation of medics/engineers, and as lovely as KES is, we are still unsure how strong it is for the subjects my DS would be interested in. He is only Year 6 but at this point we can see he is not a language buff, humanitarian or classicist. He is a scientist through and through. Of course things may change but that is how things are now and we can only make a decision on how things are now, with these tables at this time.

From the other threads I have read, it seems there is a movement of children towards KES at Sixth Form - lured by scholarships/bursaries - these children would do well wherever they went and would bump up the KES figures. Maybe the same is true in the opposite direction (from KES to the Grammars) I don't know, but it would be interesting to find out.

I have seen the KES Oxbridge/other University figures and on the face of it, they do very well. However for medicine (as an example), the percentages are comparable to Camp Hill, unless I have misunderstood them. I am only citing KES and KECH as examples as they are the schools you are interested in.

KES is undoubtedly strong for language/classics but that's not really what we as a family are looking at.

It is getting harder to compare results as KES does iGCSE/IB and KECH does GCSE/A levels. Hence we are comparing subjects studied at University (the ultimate destination?) rather than raw grades/university destinations per se.

Of course there are the vast extra-curricular options at KES, and the trips around the world (the price of which we have also seen and are factoring in :wink: ).

Anyone else have any thoughts?
no_ball

Re: Financial Times - Top 1000 Schools

Post by no_ball »

Many thanks for your thoughts on this very difficult decision. Like yourselves we are all engineers/doctors etc...never thought it would be this complex. Of course results out this week may have the final say..
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