A ONCE-failing South Tyneside school has jumped to the top of the class after chalking up some of the borough’s best exam results.
St Wilfrid’s RC College, which only came out of special measures in January last year, has completed a remarkable shift in fortunes, with an impressive 87 per cent of its pupils achieving at least five GCSEs at A* to C, including English and maths – by far the best in South Tyneside and among the highest performers nationwide.
Harton Technology College also got top marks in Key Stage 4 league tables, released by the Department of Education today, with a perfect 100 per cent of pupils notching at least five GCSE passes at A* to C, just ahead of St Wilfrid’s, which had 98 per cent of all pupils attaining five A* to C grades in any subjects.
It is the second year in a row that the school, in Lisle Road, Harton, has secured a 100 per cent pass rate in the exams.
Brendan Tapping, headteacher at St Wilfrid’s, said: “This year’s outstanding GCSE results, where 87 per cent of pupils achieved at least 5 A* to C GCSEs, including maths and English, are our best ever, the best in South Tyneside and put us in the top two per cent of schools nationally.
“We have seen terrific outcomes in subjects across the whole curriculum, where both staff and students of all abilities have worked hard together to achieve truly outstanding progress and excellent results.
“We intend to continue to build upon this fantastic achievement, which reflects St Wilfrid’s RC College’s philosophy that ‘getting better never stops’, in our mission to become a world class institution.”
Staff and students at Harton Technology College were also pleased with the results
Ken Gibson, executive headteacher, said: “The results are excellent once again. We are delighted that we have maintained our Outstanding School status after a recent inspection.
“It is down to all the hard work of our marvellous teachers and students.”
Mr Gibson says a slight fall in the number of students achieving five GCSE passes at A* to C, including English and maths, was because of controversial grade boundary changes used in last summer’s GCSE English exam.
The move saw many students, both in the borough and nationally, miss out on a C grade.
The results of a judicial review into the grade changes – supported by more than 150 schools, including Harton Technology College are due in the near future.
Across South Tyneside, 91.1 per cent of students achieved at least five GCSE grades at A* to C – up from 89.3 per cent last year, with 58 per cent picking up five A* to C grades, including maths and English, a rise from last year’s figure of 57.7 per cent.
The figures are well above the national average of 81.8 per cent for five A* to C grades in any subjects and 59.4 per cent for five A* to C passes, including English and maths.
The Council’s deputy leader, Coun Alan Kerr, said: “This is our best0ever set of results, and we are seeing consistent improvement.”
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