Understanding GCSE Grades:
GCSE grades changed in 2017 from the old A-G grades to numbers 9-1. There is much confusion regarding what these grades mean. Terms such as ‘Standard Pass’ and ‘Good Pass’ or ‘Strong Pass’ are used with little consistency or clarity. All Grades 9-1 are GCSE grades. What matters is that your child achieves the grades required for their destination. Some apprenticeships may require a 4 in English and Maths. Some college courses may require a number of GCSEs at Grade 1 or 2. Staff will be on hand on results day to contact Inspira or next steps providers should there be any uncertainty or if your child does not achieve as expected.
DfE warn of uneven impact of the pandemic on 2021/22 school and college performance data
Pupils included in the 2021/22 school and college performance measures will have had an uneven disruption to their learning.
They, therefore, recommend not making direct comparisons between schools, or with data from previous years. Comparisons with local and national averages can be made cautiously to put an individual school or college’s results into context.
There are other factors that will also make direct comparisons difficult:
- Several changes were made to exams and grading. These include advanced notice of exam topics and GCSE grading being based around a midpoint between 2021 and pre-pandemic outcomes.
- Changes were also made to the way school and college performance measures were calculated. Results achieved between January 2020 and August 2021 by pupils included in this year’s measures are not included in the calculations.
For a full explanation of all the factors affecting these results please see the KS4 2021/22 technical guides.
The individual school and college data should be used with caution. It reflects a school or college’s results in 2021/22 but cannot provide information about the factors which may have influenced these results.
Exam success is only one of a number of pupil outcomes we value at WCLC. Pupils who attend WCLC in the coming years can have confidence that they will be helped to achieve their potential in a wide range of academic and vocational subjects.
The Government has announced that it will not publish any school or college level educational performance data based on tests, assessments or exams for 2020, and has outlined accountability arrangements for 2020/21.
Further information on what this means for the way school and college accountability will operate for 2019/20 and for 2020/21 can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-school-and-college-performance-measures
The data below is indicative of the academic success enjoyed by students at WCLC in 2019-20, compared with national data for 2018-19:
Key Stage 4 2019-20
In 2019-2020, we supported pupils to gain the appropriate knowledge, skills, qualifications and resilience to enter the next phase of their educational life
| Progess 8 | |||
| Region / Local Authority | No. Pupils at the end of KS4 | No. Pupils included in the measure | Average Progress 8 Score |
| England (AP) 2019 | 9670 | 4593 | -3.09 |
| North West (AP) 2019 | 1672 | 828 | -3.32 |
| Cumbria (AP) 2019 | 62 | 40 | -2.96 |
| West Cumbria Learning Centre 2020 | 37* | 37* | -2.58 |
| West Cumbria Learning Centre – single registration only – 2020 | 16 | 16 | -3.03 |
* Total number of students, including pupils with dual registration
| Grade 9-4 in English and Maths GCSE | English Baccalaureate | |||||
| Region / Local Authority | No. of pupils at the end of KS4 | Average Attainment 8 score per Pupil | % of pupils entered for components | % of pupils who achieved a Grade 9-4 pass | % of pupils entered for all components | % of pupils who achieved |
| England (AP) 2019 | 9670 | 6.6 | 47.5 | 4.3 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
| North West (AP) 2019 | 1672 | 6.3 | 49.5 | 4.7 | 0.4 | 0.2 |
| Cumbria (AP) 2019 | 62 | 7.1 | 64.5 | 1.6 | 0 | 0 |
| West Cumbria Learning Centre 2020 | 37* | 12 | 65 | 8.0 | 0 | 0 |
| West Cumbria Learning Centre – single registration only – 2020 | 16 | 11.2 | 56 | 13.0 | 0 | 0 |
Key Stage 2 2019-20
National Assessment did not take place in 2019-2020.
Key Stage 4 – 2018/19
| Progess 8 | |||
| Region / Local Authority | No. Pupils at the end of KS4 | No. Pupils included in the measure | Average Progress 8 Score |
| England (AP) 2019 | 9670 | 4593 | -3.09 |
| North West (AP) 2019 | 1672 | 828 | -3.32 |
| Cumbria (AP) 2019 | 62 | 40 | -2.96 |
| West Cumbria Learning Centre 2019 | 45* | 45* | -2.58 |
| West Cumbria Learning Centre – single registration only – 2019 | 34 | 34 | -2.40 |
* Total number of students, including those with dual registration
| Grade 9-4 in English and Maths GCSE | English Baccalaureate | |||||
| Region / Local Authority | No. of pupils at the end of KS4 | Average Attainment 8 score per Pupil | % of pupils entered for components | % of pupils who achieved a Grade 9-4 pass | % of pupils entered for all components | % of pupils who achieved |
| England (AP) 2019 | 9670 | 6.6 | 47.5 | 4.3 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
| North West (AP) 2019 | 1672 | 6.3 | 49.5 | 4.7 | 0.4 | 0.2 |
| Cumbria (AP) 2019 | 62 | 7.1 | 64.5 | 1.6 | 0 | 0 |
| West Cumbria Learning Centre 2019 | 45* | 11.1 | 91 | 2.0** | 0 | 0 |
| West Cumbria Learning Centre – single registration only – 2019 | 34 | 11.1 | 88 | 1.0** | 0 | 0 |
** English Literature and Maths
Key Stage 2 – 2018/19
In Summer 2019, we did not have any pupils who were eligible to be entered for National Assessment.
Key Stage 4 – 2017/18
| Progess 8 | |||
| Region / Local Authority | No. Pupils at the end of KS4 | No. Pupils included in the measure | Average Progress 8 Score |
| England (AP) 2018 | 9637 | 8650 | -3.11 |
| North West (AP) 2018 | 1745 | 1629 | -3.32 |
| Cumbria (AP) 2018 | 50 | 48 | -2.92 |
| West Cumbria Learning Centre 2018 | 35* | 35* | -1.65 |
| West Cumbria Learning Centre – PEX only – 2018 | 7 | 7 | -1.32 |
* Total number of students, including those with dual registration
| Grade 9-4 in English and Maths GCSE | English Baccalaureate | |||||
| Region / Local Authority | No. of pupils at the end of KS4 | Average Attainment 8 score per Pupil | % of pupils entered for components | % of pupils who achieved a Grade 9-4 pass | % of pupils entered for all components | % of pupils who achieved |
| England (AP) 2018 | 9637 | 6.6 | 46.3 | 4.3 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
| North West (AP) 2018 | 1745 | 6.0 | 46.5 | 3.6 | 0.4 | 0.1 |
| Cumbria (AP) 2018 | 50 | 7.0 | 52 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 |
| West Cumbria Learning Centre 2018 | 35* | 14.5 | 88.6 | 8.6** | 3 | 3 |
| West Cumbria Learning Centre – PEX only – 2018 | 7 | 9.7 | 100 | 0** | 0 | 0 |
** English Literature and Maths
Key Stage 2 – 2017/18
In Summer 2018, only two Year 6 pupils were eligible to be entered for National Assessment. In order to protect the privacy of these pupils, this attainment data is not published.
Key Stage 4 – 2016/17
| Progess 8 | |||
| Region / Local Authority | No. Pupils at the end of KS4 | No. Pupils included in the measure | Average Progress 8 Score |
| England (AP) 2017 | 9575 | 8348 | -3.10 |
| North West (AP) 2017 | 1717 | 1591 | -3.28 |
| Cumbria (AP) 2017 | 23 | 23 | -2.76 |
| West Cumbria Learning Centre 2017 | 22* | 22* | -3.17 |
| West Cumbria Learning Centre – PEX only – 2017 | 7 | 7 | -3.38 |
* This is the number of students who were dual registration with WCLC
| Grade 9-4 in English and Maths GCSE | English Baccalaureate | |||||
| Region / Local Authority | No. of pupils at the end of KS4 | Average Attainment 8 score per Pupil | % of pupils entered for components | % of pupils who achieved | % of pupils entered for all components | % of pupils who achieved |
| England (AP) 2017 | 9575 | 6.2 | 40.1 | 4.3 | 0.3 | 0 |
| North West (AP) 2017 | 1717 | 5.6 | 40.1 | 3.3 | 0.4 | 0 |
| Cumbria (AP) 2017 | 23 | 6.6 | 39.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| West Cumbria Learning Centre 2017 | 22* | 9.6 | 100 | 4.5** | 0 | 0 |
| West Cumbria Learning Centre – PEX only – 2017 | 7 | 16.6 | 100 | 14** | 0 | 0 |
** English Literature and Maths
Key Stage 2 – 2017/18
In Summer 2017, only one Year 6 pupil was eligible to be entered for National Assessment. In order to protect the privacy of this pupil, this attainment data is not published.
| Progess 8 | |||
| Region / Local Authority | No. Pupils at the end of KS4 | No. Pupils included in the measure | Average Progress 8 Score |
| England (AP) 2016 | 9333 | 7976 | -3.28 |
| North West (AP) 2016 | 1493 | 1368 | -3.54 |
| Cumbria (AP) 2016 | 18 | 15 | -3.18 |
| West Cumbria Learning Centre – 2016 | 13* | 13* | -2.24 |
| West Cumbria Learning Centre – PEX only – 2016 | 6 | 6 | -2.42 |
* This is the number of students who were dual registration with WCLC
| A* – C in English and Maths GCSE | English Baccalaureate | |||||
| Region / Local Authority | No. of pupils at the end of KS4 | Average Attainment 8 score per Pupil | % of pupils entered for components | % of pupils who achieved | % of pupils entered for all components | % of pupils who achieved |
| England (AP) 2016 | 9,333 | 7.8 | 42.0 | 3.4 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| North West (AP) 2016 | 1,493 | 6.9 | 42.3 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 0 |
| Cumbria (AP) 2016 | 18 | 7.0 | 38.9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| West Cumbria Learning Centre – 2016 | 13* | 13.7 | 100 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| West Cumbria Learning Centre – PEX only – 2016 | 6 | 10.5 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
In English, Maths and Science students in receipt of the Pupil Premium (74% of cohort) outperformed their peers. All of the grade 4 or grade 5’sacheived in each Core subject, was achieved by a child in receipt of the Pupil Premium. Students with Band 5 / Band 6 EHCPs for SEMH were able to access GCSE level qualifications in line with their peers in PRU / AP up to and including grade 4. Where GCSE was not achieved Functional Skills at Level 2 or 3 was achieved.