Telford school ranks among best in England
A Telford school once under threat of closure is celebrating after being named as one of the best in the country for its rapidly improving GCSE results.
The Lord Silkin School has won national recognition for its “stunning” turnaround in performance, and is being hailed as an example for other schools to follow.
The Stirchley school has qualified in the top ten per cent of schools in England by improving its GCSE results year on year from 2008 to 2011, by at least 19 percentage points overall.
Every school in the country has been ranked according to how much progress they made in improving their GCSE results in 2011 in new rankings released by SSAT – the representative organisation for schools.
Sue Williamson, chief executive of SSAT, said: “Lord Silkin School should be congratulated for its stunning achievement in improving its GCSE results.
“It has proved itself to be one of the best schools in the country at improving GCSE outcomes for its students. There is plenty that other schools could learn from the Lord Silkin School's success.”
The recognition comes after the school celebrated record-breaking GCSE results in 2011, with 81 per cent of students achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A-C, making the school the fifth best performing in Telford & Wrekin. In 2007, only 38 per cent of students achieved the same grades.
Headteacher Trevor Goddard said: “This is fantastic recognition on a national scale for both our students and our staff, who have consistently made progress in the last three years.
“We have raised the bar each year, and our students have shown that not only are they among the best in the local authority area, but also in the UK.”
The Lord Silkin School was last year named Telford's most improved school as well as winning an an award for the most reduced absenteeism by pupils in the local authority area.
Ofsted inspectors also praised the school in a report last year, saying pupils were performing “well above” the national average. The report said students' attainments had risen in almost 'every key indicator' and that the school 's status as a specialist centre for maths was seeing pupils achieve “strong outcomes”.
Proposals are currently under way to rebuild the school on a neighbouring site as part of the Telford & Wrekin Future Schools plan. The new facilities for the community in Stirchley will include a new primary and secondary school plus further education opportunities for those aged 16 and over. The development will incorporate the existing Grange Park Primary.
