Once again we are proud to celebrate the success of our all students in their Level 2 (GCSE, Level 1/2 Award and BTEC) and Level 3 (A Level, BTEC and Cambridge Technical) qualifications. Our Year 11 and Sixth Form students have worked extremely hard over the course of two years and as a result of their success they are able to embark upon the next stage in their career, some beginning apprenticeships, some university or college courses and some returning to our Sixth Form.
At Millom School we believe that education goes beyond just exam results, however, we do need to monitor the progress and outcomes of our students and provide information on their attainment and progress using specific performance criteria. This year has been a unique year in that for the first time examinations were cancelled in summer 2020 leading to the awarding of Centre Assessed Grades (subject to a national moderation process).
For this reason, no performance tables will be published this year and the usual Progress 8 (for Year 11) and value added (for Year 13) measures will not be valid.
Key Stage 4
Progress 8 measures the difference between a pupil’s estimated attainment, based on their Key Stage 2 scores, and their actual attainment achieved by the end of Year 11. It takes the current year’s national performance data into account. The whole school Progress 8 score is an average of the Year 11 cohort and is calculated after students have taken the exams. This link explains the key changes for parents: https://www.theschoolrun.com/secondary-school-performance-measures
Remember also that for two years now we have had a different grading system for GCSEs where results have changed from A*-G to 9-1. The reformed GCSEs are also more challenging and many subjects have experienced the removal of coursework. This helpful fact-sheet from the DfE outlines those key changes to GCSE grading: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/626681/GCSE_Factsheet_parentFormatted1.pdf
In the table below are the headline figures for 2019. Parents and carers are also encouraged to visit the Department for Education’s Performance Tables, which can be found on its web site with the link provided in the statutory information tab of the school website. However, 2020 results will not be published. Note that the E-Bacc measure for Millom School is low because our curriculum model does not make it mandatory for students to study a GCSE in a modern foreign language. We currently give our students the option to study languages (French) at GCSE.
| Measure | School 2019 | School 2018 | School 2017 | School 2016 |
| Progress 8 | -0.16 | 0.0 | -0.11 | -0.29 |
| Attainment 8 | 42.3 | 43.5 | 47.4 | 48.37 |
| % achieving grade 5+ in English and maths | 29% | 31% | 49% | n/a |
| % achieving grade 4+ in English and maths | 55% | 52% | 67% | 68% |
| % entered for the E-Bacc | 3% | 8% | 1% | 9% |
| % achieving the E-Bacc at grades 5+ | 1% | 3% | 1% | 9% |
The results of Centre Assessed Grades for 2020 are as follows (data provided internally by Millom School):
| Attainment 8 | 5.0 (average grade) |
| % achieving grade 5+ in English and maths | 44.3% |
| % achieving grade 4+ in English and maths | 62.5% |
| % entered for the E-Bacc | 4.5% |
| % achieving the E-Bacc at grades 5+ | 1.1% |
Key Stage 5
Due to the government’s decision to not publish performance tables this year, it is difficult to determine headline measures for Year 13, as there is no value added data available. Average grades for the Centre Assessed Grades are shown below:
A-level average grade: C
Vocational average grade: Distinction-
Our headline figures for the Sixth Form for 2019 are shown below. Please note that this information is sourced from the DfE’s compare school performance website and includes ‘add-back’ students, which are students who completed courses in previous academic years but who were not included in performance measures at that time. The add-back students have a significant impact upon the figures presented in the performance tables, but due to DfE ruling, schools are unable to remove these students from being included in the measures.
Performance measures are broken down to Academic (A-level programmes only) and Applied General (BTEC and Cambridge Technical programmes). Applied General statistics are only published if the cohort size is greater than 5.
A-level value added -0.34
Average grade D+
Applied general value added -0.37
Average grade Merit+
With the add-back students removed, the Year 13 cohort of academic year 2019 achieved the following:
- Pass rate (%A*-E) of all A-level entries and equivalents = 99% (improved from 87% in 2017 and 80% in 2018)
- High grades rate (%A*-B) of all A-level entries and equivalents = 36% (improved from 34% in 2017 and 28% in 2018)
- 92% achieved 3 or more A-levels or equivalent and 100% achieved 2 or more A-levels or equivalent