Pupils shine in key tests (From Witney Gazette)

Pupils shine in key tests

8:13am Thursday 1st March 2007 in Witney By Emma-Kate Lidbury

OXFORDSHIRE'S 14-year-olds have shown they are on track for success at GCSE with some impressive test results at Key Stage Three.

The results of last year's tests, published today, reveal the county's teenagers are performing better than the national average at level six - the most challenging level in the tests.

There has also been an improvement on 2005's figures, with plenty of success for Oxford's schools, with Peers School, in Littlemore - which recently came out of special measures - exceeding its targets for the first time.

And Matthew Arnold School, in Cumnor Hill, topped the county's league tables.

The tests are taken by 14-year-olds in English, maths and science, with all pupils expected to reach level five.

In English, 75 per cent of Oxfordshire pupils reached level five, compared with 73 per cent nationally. In maths, 79 per cent of students reached the expected target compared with the national average of 77 per cent.

The biggest improvements came in science, with 76 per cent of Oxfordshire pupils achieving level five, compared with 72 per cent nationally.

Matthew Arnold School achieved an average point score of 38.9. Ninety per cent of pupils reached the level five target in English and maths, with 87 per cent doing so in science.

Senior deputy headteacher Giles Marshall said: "We're delighted with the results. They're a just reward for staff and students' hard work. We have been working hard here and when you do that it's always nice to see good results."

Bartholomew School, in Eynsham, had an average point score of 38.2 and saw 94 per cent of pupils reach level five in English, 91 per cent in maths and 89 per cent in science.

Headteacher Andrew Hamilton said: "We have done fantastically well and are very pleased with these results. They're a great credit to the hard work of our pupils and staff."

Also featured in the tables is a value-added score, which measures the progress pupils make between the ages of 11 and 14, and is considered the fairest way to compare school performance. Matthew Arnold again came out on top and made it into the top 10 per cent nationally for value-added scores.

Mr Hamilton added: "The value-added score is even more pleasing. It shows we've not just got bright pupils, but we have added value to their learning as well."

Woodeaton Manor Special School, near Oxford, was in the top five per cent of schools nationally for its value-added performance.

Peers School saw its results improve after ranking among the bottom 200 schools nationally a year earlier. Pupils scored an average 30.1 points, compared with 28.6 in 2005. Thirty-six per cent of them achieved level five in English, 51 per cent in maths and 47 per cent in science.

Headteacher Lorna Caldicott said: "This is the first year we have ever exceeded our targets. All the children met their own personal targets. Overall, we achieved more level five scores than we were hoping to get, so we're very pleased."

The Cherwell School, in Marston Ferry Road, Oxford, equalled its results from 2005, with pupils again scoring an average of 37 points. Seventy-six per cent of pupils achieved level five in English, while 84 per cent did in maths and science.

Oxford Community School, in Glanville Road, East Oxford, saw a slight drop in its average point score, with a 30.3 point average, compared with 31.9 for 2005 and Cheney School, in Headington, also suffered a drop in its average points score from 35.1 to 33.6.

• Levels five and six are the attainment targets which pupils are expected to achieve at Key Stage Three. The average point score is calculated by adding pupils' total points scores and dividing by the number of pupils sitting each subject.