Academic Performance
The school produces strong academic results. Its Key Stage 3 scores for 2005 were an aggregate percentage score of 250, compared with 225 for schools in Somerset and 217 for schools in England. At GCSE level 73% of pupils achieved 5 or more A* to C grade passes, compared with 56% in Somerset and the rest of England. In 2006 the measure of GCSE performance was changed to 5 or more A* to C grade passes including Mathematics and English. Using this new stricter measure the school scored 64% compared with 44.4% in Somerset and 45.8% in England. In 2008, three GCSE RE students obtained marks which placed them in the top ten nationally of the 67,739 students who took the exam. In 2009, the school achieved its best ever GCSE results, with 81% of pupils gaining five or more A* to C passes, and 70% gaining five A* to C passes including maths and English, making it the top performing school in Somerset. In 2010, the record 2009 results were slightly improved on with 82% of pupils gaining five or more A* to C passes, and 70% gaining five A* to C passes including maths and English. In 2011, the number of pupils gaining five or more A* to C passes increased 9% to 91%, and also increased 4% to 74% for those gaining five A* to C passes including maths and English.
Since 2001, the school's GCSE results have been consistently higher than both the local authority and English schools averages.
| Percentage of pupils gaining 5 GCSE passes at grades A* to C | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |
| School | 67% | 69% | 66% | 71% | 73% | 76% | 70% | 68% | 81% | 82% | 91% |
| Local authority | 55% | 55% | 55% | 56% | 56% | 56% | 56% | 60% | |||
| National | 50% | 52% | 53% | 54% | 56% | 58% | 61% | 65% | 67.1% | 69% | |
| Reference | |||||||||||
| Percentage of pupils gaining 5 GCSE passes at grades A* to C (including English and Mathematics) |
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | |
| School | 53% | 61% | 65% | 63% | 60% | 52% | 70% | 70% | 74% |
| Local authority | 42% | 44% | 46% | 44% | 47% | 47% | 49% | 54% | |
| National | 42% | 43% | 44% | 45% | 46% | 48% | 50% | 54% | |
| Reference | |||||||||
Read more about this topic: The Kings Of Wessex Academy
Famous quotes containing the words academic and/or performance:
“The poker player learns that sometimes both science and common sense are wrong; that the bumblebee can fly; that, perhaps, one should never trust an expert; that there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of by those with an academic bent.”
—David Mamet (b. 1947)
“True balance requires assigning realistic performance expectations to each of our roles. True balance requires us to acknowledge that our performance in some areas is more important than in others. True balance demands that we determine what accomplishments give us honest satisfaction as well as what failures cause us intolerable grief.”
—Melinda M. Marshall (20th century)