English schools are the best in the world???
Reading the morning news, I came across this article. This is an insight into the appalling state of the UK secondary education system. The education system in the UK has traditionally been seen as one of the best in the world, and UK qualifications are recognised by employers and universities all over the world.
Students take GCSEs at approximately age 15/16, after 12 years of compulsory education. The accepted standard of education, which statistics such as this are based on, is 5 GCSE passes (grade C or above) in English, Maths and 3 other subjects. GCSE grades range from A*-G and then jump to U, which is 'ungraded' (which basically means you wrote your name on the paper and nothing else of note).
What constitues a C or above varies among subjects, exam boards and papers, but as an example: I took Higher Tier GCSE Maths and Religious Studies. On a Higher Tier paper you can get a grade from A*-C if you actually pass. I got an A for Maths, which is about 60% (I don't know the exact mark). I got an A* in Religious Studies, which covers about 94% and above (my exact mark overall was 358/360, 99.4%). In Maths, I was told that on the paper I took you needed approximately 20% to get a C.
Let me repeat that, in case you missed it. TWENTY PERCENT. On the Intermediate Tier paper (grade range B-D) you needed about 40% for a C.
Now for the statistics:
Percentages for 5 GCSE passes at grade C or above, including English and Maths, for state schools in England
National average: 46%
638 schools less than 30%
14 schools less than 10%
Of 149 local authorities, only 15 contain no schools with below 30%.
In Manchester and Bristol more than half of state schools have below 30%.
The report on the BBC says these 638 schools make up nearly 1/5 of the schools in England. The national average is 46%.
This means that the average level of achievement in England is that 54% of 16-year-olds leaving a state secondary school after 12 years of compulsory education, in the fifth-richest country in the world, do not have what is considered a basic standard of education in this country. There are 14 schools in England where the 'gold standard' pass rate is in single figures. Even factoring in the policies which mean that many children and young people who would previously have been in a special school (not included in these stats) now attend mainstream schools, this is still unbelievable.
Most private schools with any interest in academics pride themselves on getting 'gold standard' pass rates of 100%. Many have 100% pass rates at GCSE, and A-level pass rates in the high 90s. I took 10 GCSEs at age 16, and got 6 A*s and 4 As. I took another two the next year while doing AS Levels and got another A* and A. Apparently I am 'gifted', and I am not expecting every school in the country to produce those kinds of results, but a national average of less than half? And nearly 1/5 getting less than a third? What is WRONG with this place?
If anyone is still in any doubt as to why I will be homeschooling my children (if we are in England - I may be willing to give the Dutch education system a chance), I'm not sure how much clearer I can make the situation. If you want to know why I don't plan to send my children to a private school, I remind you that 'bullying and discrimination policy' in most schools is just a piece of paper.
References:
Schools told to improve or close, BBC News, 9th June 2008
Schools below 30% GCSE target, BBC News, 9th June 2008
Raising the bar on school results, BBC News, 9th June 2008
Students take GCSEs at approximately age 15/16, after 12 years of compulsory education. The accepted standard of education, which statistics such as this are based on, is 5 GCSE passes (grade C or above) in English, Maths and 3 other subjects. GCSE grades range from A*-G and then jump to U, which is 'ungraded' (which basically means you wrote your name on the paper and nothing else of note).
What constitues a C or above varies among subjects, exam boards and papers, but as an example: I took Higher Tier GCSE Maths and Religious Studies. On a Higher Tier paper you can get a grade from A*-C if you actually pass. I got an A for Maths, which is about 60% (I don't know the exact mark). I got an A* in Religious Studies, which covers about 94% and above (my exact mark overall was 358/360, 99.4%). In Maths, I was told that on the paper I took you needed approximately 20% to get a C.
Let me repeat that, in case you missed it. TWENTY PERCENT. On the Intermediate Tier paper (grade range B-D) you needed about 40% for a C.
Now for the statistics:
Percentages for 5 GCSE passes at grade C or above, including English and Maths, for state schools in England
National average: 46%
638 schools less than 30%
14 schools less than 10%
Of 149 local authorities, only 15 contain no schools with below 30%.
In Manchester and Bristol more than half of state schools have below 30%.
The report on the BBC says these 638 schools make up nearly 1/5 of the schools in England. The national average is 46%.
This means that the average level of achievement in England is that 54% of 16-year-olds leaving a state secondary school after 12 years of compulsory education, in the fifth-richest country in the world, do not have what is considered a basic standard of education in this country. There are 14 schools in England where the 'gold standard' pass rate is in single figures. Even factoring in the policies which mean that many children and young people who would previously have been in a special school (not included in these stats) now attend mainstream schools, this is still unbelievable.
Most private schools with any interest in academics pride themselves on getting 'gold standard' pass rates of 100%. Many have 100% pass rates at GCSE, and A-level pass rates in the high 90s. I took 10 GCSEs at age 16, and got 6 A*s and 4 As. I took another two the next year while doing AS Levels and got another A* and A. Apparently I am 'gifted', and I am not expecting every school in the country to produce those kinds of results, but a national average of less than half? And nearly 1/5 getting less than a third? What is WRONG with this place?
If anyone is still in any doubt as to why I will be homeschooling my children (if we are in England - I may be willing to give the Dutch education system a chance), I'm not sure how much clearer I can make the situation. If you want to know why I don't plan to send my children to a private school, I remind you that 'bullying and discrimination policy' in most schools is just a piece of paper.
References:
Schools told to improve or close, BBC News, 9th June 2008
Schools below 30% GCSE target, BBC News, 9th June 2008
Raising the bar on school results, BBC News, 9th June 2008