Taunton and West Somerset schools ranked in Department for Education performance tables

New figures released by the Department for Education (DfE) show how schools and colleges across the country have been performing, based on a variety of statistics including average grade, percentage of pupils achieving the English Baccalaureate and new measure that aims to judge a student’s progress.

One sixth form centre, the Somerset Performing Arts Centre for Education ( The SPACE) was ranked as the fourth best sixth form centre in the country, as well as a host of state schools, public schools and academies producing high results.

For the first time this year, schools have not been judged on the proportion of pupils scoring at least five C grades at GCSE, including in English and maths.

Instead, ministers have introduced a new headline measure called “Progress 8”.

This looks at the progress a pupil makes from the end of primary school to the end of secondary school.

It compares pupils’ results with the achievements of other youngsters with the same prior attainment, and measures performance across eight qualifications.

A spokesperson for Somerset County Council said: “The Secondary League Tables for 2016 show strong performance by Somerset’s young people and schools.

“Somerset’s Progress 8 score, which measures progress that students make from the end of primary school to the end of secondary school, was the highest in the South West.

“It places the county in the top third of local authorities nationally.

“This is a great success and is testament to the hard work of students, teachers and school leaders.”

Schools in Taunton and West Somerset performance for 2016.

At secondary school level, academies The Castle School and Heathfield School lead the way with 80 per cent of pupils obtaining grade A*-C in English and Maths.

Heathfield Community School marked 0.49 above national average for the new Progress 8 rating with The Castle School close behind with 0.48 above national average.

Secondary schools Court Fields and The Taunton Academy ranked with negative Progress 8 ratings.

Court Fields scored -0.01 below the national average, with 69 per cent of students achieving grade A*-C in English and maths.

The Taunton Academy ranked -0.29 in Progress 8 with 33 per cent of students achieving grade A*-C in English and maths.

At public schools across the area, King’s College pupils achieved 72 per cent of pupils achieving grade A*-C in English and Maths with Queen’s College close behind with 68 per cent.

Jonty Lawford, deputy headteacher at King's College.

Jonty Lawford, deputy headteacher at King’s College, said: “We were once again very proud of the performance of our exam year groups last summer.

“At both A-level and GCSE the results reflect the diligence of the pupils and the focused support of the teachers in preparing all of our pupils for their exams.

“Of course, figures such as those published recently by the Department of Education only tell part of the story, and sometimes mask the wonderful individual achievements of each and every pupil.

“King’s College prides itself on the personalised academic provision that occurs at the school, with individual tutors guiding each of their tutees along their own academic path. As a result, we consistently achieve grades that exceed expectations.”

Sarah Watson, headteacher at Castle School.

Sarah Watson, headteacher at Castle School, was also pleased with the results.

She said: “‘It is quite something The Castle School is now in the fourth year for over 80 per cent of Year 11 students achieving at least five GCSE passes including English and Maths at grades A*-C.

“Although it is good to know how the school has performed, it is always about those young people who have been able to secure the college places they wanted and to go onto the next stage of their lives with the security of those excellent GCSE results.

“In a time when there is a national shortage of new recruits into teaching and there is a lot of media coverage about how tough teaching is, we are very fortunate to have such highly qualified and dedicated staff.”

Colleges across the county were also ranked on A-level or equivalent results.

Sixth form colleges in Taunton and West Somerset for 2016

One college in Taunton made it to the top ten in the UK for sixth form education.

The Somerset Performing Arts Centre for Education was ranked fourth for its A Level results.

David Duthie, course director for The Somerset Performing Arts Centre for Education, said: “A college only offering performing arts courses is rubbing shoulders with the academic elite – the other five institutions are all London-based with far more academic students from wealthier backgrounds. We are the only state school in the top ten.

“This is because we believe that those who want to study vocationally in the arts need that chance. A chance that many other providers or methods of education would not offer them.

“The results show that the arts can open doors for young people, we have lots of success stories, and they are empowered by their involvement in it.

“Our catchment is mixed and we do not insist on a criteria related entry or ask for certain GCSE results. They work with us for two days on an entry workshop and if they are suitable for a Level 3 course we offer them a place.”

Richard Huish College in Taunton rated with a 0.04 progress score, with an average mark of C+, and 16.30 per cent of pupils achieved marks AAB or higher in at least two facilitating subjects, ie subjects that are commonly needed to achieve a university place.

West Somerset College scored a 0.22 progress mark, had a C average, with 9.6 per cent achieving AAB.

A negative progress score was given to Bridgwater and Taunton College with -0.35. The average mark achieved at the college was D+. 243 students, 1.2 per cent, achieved marks of AAB in two facilitating subjects.

Independent schools King’s, Queen’s, Wellington School and Taunton School, which all have sixth forms all had average marks of B-. King’s scored a 0.14 in progress, with 22.4 per cent of students achieving AAB. Queen’s scored 0.23 in progress and saw 20.7 per cent of students achieve AAB. Wellington School scored 0.17 and saw 30.4 per cent of students achieve AAB. Taunton School scored 0.15 in progress and 30 per cent of students achieved AAB.

Taunton School ranked highest in average point score per entry with 37.91. 

Mr Lee Glaser, headmaster, said: “I am thrilled to see that the efforts of our students and the commitment of our outstanding teachers are paying dividends in our exam results. However, it is vital to remember that an outstanding education is about much more than academic league tables. Our aim is to challenge, inspire and nurture young people to succeed in a global community and hence we are focused on developing open minded, confident and principled young adults. Some schools will make a similar comment having performed poorly in academic league tables but we are proud that we can say it whilst driving our academic standards even higher. These are very exciting times at Taunton School.”