Alevel league tables

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Walthams
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Joined: Wed Jan 13, 2016 12:13 pm

Alevel league tables

Post by Walthams »

I came across the Evening Standard A-level results table and the results baffled me. I would be grateful if you could help me understand the reasons behind the differences between schools.

I will quote results of some well known schools:
% of students getting AAB or more in Alevels:
King's college london maths 93%
King's college school 83%
St Paul's 83%
HBS 79%
QE 79%
Latymer Upper 66%
Wimbledon high 58%
Alleyn's 59%
Bancrofts 58%
Dulwich college 54%
London academy of excellence in newham 53%
Latymer 50%


What surprises me and what I would like to understand is:
1) why is latymer achieveing noticably lower reaults than schools who take similarly able students in year 6? I understand 50% is still great, but I wouldn't like my child to end up in the other 50% of children who failed to achieve AAB in Alevels, but it seems like a 50/50 chance in Latymer. :?
2) why do you think qe needs their famous cull to achieve the same result as hbs which achieves it without a cull?
3) how can bancrofts achieve a better result than Latymer if many of the kids who go there are those who failed to get to latymer?
4) how can london academy of excellence achieve such an amazing result, better in fact than latymer, if it is not a selective school?
5) why do the best independents such as kings college or st pauls achieve such high results, better even than hbs who are famously hard to get to so must be some of the brightest? What do the independent schools do that is different to some other independents?

Your thoughts and experiences are greatly appreciated.
ToadMum
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Location: Essex

Re: Alevel league tables

Post by ToadMum »

I hold no brief for Latymer, but if this is 2018 you are talking about, either the Evening Standard has mis-reported the school's results, or the school is really trying it on...

http://web.latymer.co.uk/news/14082018- ... am-results

Congratulations to our Year 13 students who have achieved an outstanding set of A Level Results.

We have seen a 2% increase in the number of A* grades; the percentage achieved this year was 25%.

The percentage of students who achieved A*/A grades was 62%, which is a 3% increase on those attained in 2016/17. The percentage of A*/B grades was 87%.



Can you link to your source, please? Is there a particular calculation that the ES applied to the schools' figures to arrive at the ones it published?
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Walthams
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Joined: Wed Jan 13, 2016 12:13 pm

Re: Alevel league tables

Post by Walthams »

Here is the link I used to get this inormation:
https://www-standard-co-uk.cdn.ampproje ... 50671.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
loobylou
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Joined: Thu Nov 27, 2014 5:04 pm

Re: Alevel league tables

Post by loobylou »

That combination of statistics looks odd. I would not have thought students at Latymer do a significant number of A levels in non-facilitating subjects which might explain some of the discrepancies in the list between the average point score and the AAB percentages.
Hopefully a person with some statistical knowledge will come along. But is "AAB in facilitating subjects" a statistic that schools have to have measured? If not then I wonder where the ES got that data from?
mitasol
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Joined: Wed Feb 27, 2008 9:59 am

Re: Alevel league tables

Post by mitasol »

This information is collected https://assets.publishing.service.gov.u ... evised.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The SFR reports additional average attainment measures for A level students, for example the average grade in a student’s best 3 A levels and the proportion of students achieving AAB (in at least two facilitating subjects). These apply to a different subset of A level students. The AAB measure has changed since last year, and now only includes students that are on A level-only programmes. Students must have entered at least one A level (not including applied A levels or AS levels), and not studied other substantial academic, applied or technical qualifications. More information can be found in section 4.
hermanmunster
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Location: The Seaside

Re: Alevel league tables

Post by hermanmunster »

The AAB stat is included in this:

https://www.compare-school-performance. ... 5-16-to-18" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

go to "A levels" ->additional data

Interesting results - TBH 66% v good - local area (where there is just one grammar for each gender ) get 30-45%
loobylou
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Joined: Thu Nov 27, 2014 5:04 pm

Re: Alevel league tables

Post by loobylou »

That's Latymer Upper rather than Latymer . But I've found the stats for Latymer which confirm the 50% figure (it must be accurate as it's on the DoE website).
OP it's interesting to look at the statistics. A very quick comparison of Latymer, DAO and one of the Bucks grammars (where I happened to go back in the day, therefore not picked totally at random) shows Latymer's results to be better than any of those others in terms of the AAB statistic.
It also shows that the average grade was an A- so maybe it is the number of "non-facilitating" subjects that skews it down?
I assumed all "academic" subjects were facilitating subjects but a quick google has proved me wrong.
https://successatschool.org/advicedetai ... g-subjects" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
My eldest child is currently picking A levels and is 90% sure what she wants to choose. One of her subjects is not a facilitating subject according to this list so even if she gets all A/A* at A level she won't be counted in her school's statistics on this measure.
That link days that even "top" universities do not require all the A levels to be from that narrow list of subjects so it seems an odd measure to choose? Maybe someone who knows more will be able to explain it.
I would suspect that maybe some of the schools showing 70%+ on that particular measure have more restricted choices at A level or many students with more narrow areas of interest.
Walthams
Posts: 49
Joined: Wed Jan 13, 2016 12:13 pm

Re: Alevel league tables

Post by Walthams »

I am not sure comparing Latymer to a Bucks grammar would be right. As far as I know bucks have much more grammars and on average every third child goes to grammar, so they are not super selectives like Latymer. DAO is partially selective. But Latymer is a fully super selective school hence I compared it to other super selectives.

The AAB or more do not need to be all in facilitating subjects - at least two results being in ‘facilitating subjects’, which is quite a reasonable expectation I would think, since these are the subjects that are most valued by top universities.
loobylou
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Joined: Thu Nov 27, 2014 5:04 pm

Re: Alevel league tables

Post by loobylou »

Walthams wrote:I am not sure comparing Latymer to a Bucks grammar would be right. As far as I know bucks have much more grammars and on average every third child goes to grammar, so they are not super selectives like Latymer. DAO is partially selective. But Latymer is a fully super selective school hence I compared it to other super selectives.

The AAB or more do not need to be all in facilitating subjects - at least two results being in ‘facilitating subjects’, which is quite a reasonable expectation I would think, since these are the subjects that are most valued by top universities.
Ok I can't explain it then!
(Latymer isn't a super selective though. It does have a catchment you have to be living in to get a place).
ToadMum
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Location: Essex

Re: Alevel league tables

Post by ToadMum »

From a random college (Christ's) at one of the toppest of Top Unoversities (Cambridge), re entry requirements for HSPS (Human, Social and Political Studies), which must be an okay thing to study at university, otherwise Cambridge wouldnt be offering it:

Subject advice
No particular subjects at A level (or equivalent) are required for HSPS. It may be helpful if your subjects relate to the area of the course in which you are hoping to specialise, eg History or Sociology for Social Anthropology etc. However, most subjects are relevant and a mix of science and arts subjects is positively welcomed.


Not that Latymer studens can be going astray by taking Sociolgy along with their Textiles and Economics, since it doesnt seem to be offered there.

I would argue with the school's advice that DT paves the way for any Architecture degree, though, as most schools of architecture which state a preference / requirement actually prefer A level Art.
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
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