Do league tables provide an accurate picture of the quality of schools? Hannah Chapman speaks to one North-East teacher who says they don’t give his pupils a fair showing

MANY private schools have long been critical of league tables, saying that because the international qualifications their pupils study for are not recognised, they often come out bottom, when in fact their results are among the best in the country.

Geoff Chapman, assistant headteacher and head of English at Darlington School of Maths and Science (DSMS), says they can also give an unfair picture of secondary schools like his.

At this point I should declare an interest. Geoff is my brother and we are speaking after The Northern Echo published the latest Department for Education (DfE) league tables last month (January).

The article cited DSMS as being among 20 North-East schools which are “failing to give children a decent education” and said just 17 per cent of its pupils achieved five A* to C grades including maths and English, when the national benchmark is 40 per cent.

Unhappy with this criticism of his school, Geoff and I got together to talk statistics over a chippy tea.

DSMS, which takes children aged 11 to 16, has previously operated an early entry system, whereby students are entered for GCSE maths and English exams at the end of year ten, again in the November of year 11, and then possibly a third time in the summer term of year 11.

Geoff says this gives them chance to get a grade under their belts at the end of year ten, while gaining vital exam experience, followed by the opportunity of up to two resits where they could improve. The advent of new linear GCSEs in maths and English from summer 2017, where exams can only be taken at the end of the course, will signal an end to this strategy in all schools.

The reason why DSMS scores so poorly in the league tables, Geoff tells me, is that the data counted by the DfE is the students’ first mark only. The grade they actually leave school with at the end of year 11 is not included.

When DSMS’s final grades are factored in, the number of students achieving five A* to C grades with maths and English is actually 54.6 per cent – well above Government targets.

“We aren’t complacent when they get those first results at the end of year ten,” Geoff says. “We push them on to do better.

“The next time they sit the exam they are more confident and more used to the exam experience, so they do better in that second exam window, and then improve again at the end of year 11. We refuse to cap the progress of any student.”

He says the DfE are not a fan of the early entry system. The school’s recent Ofsted report, which rated DSMS as requiring improvement, found that some pupils are entered inappropriately for early exams.

Geoff acknowledges the Ofsted rating, while pointing out that the new framework is much tougher than it used to be.

“We’ve had a lot of changes recently,” he says. “But we’ll get there. The systems we have in place are the right systems.”

He moves on to the results already achieved by the current intake of year 11 students. In maths, 13 per cent of pupils have already got an A* or A. In English language, that figure rises to 20 per cent.

“This has created a real buzz around school,” he says.

“If these results aren’t a sign we’re moving in the right direction, I don’t know what is.”

Geoff says a better measure of quality for DSMS is the progress made by students. In 2015, 79 per cent of pupils made expected progress in English, compared to the national average of 72 per cent. In maths, the figure is 62 per cent, just below the national average of 65 per cent. All schools will be measured on pupil progress from next year.

But what these figures can’t show, and what seems to be the chief argument against league tables, is that they don’t take into account other aspects of education provided by schools.

DSMS has its own award-winning pupil-run magazine, The Wyvern, which has branched out into a TV station, has a Rising Stars programme for more able students, and a debating club. None of this counts for anything in the league tables.

“Our kids have such a lot of personality,” Geoff says. “A lot of spark.

“We try to give them their chance to thrive and do really well – and they are so keen to improve.

“Parents probably do worry about the league tables, but it’s only one side of the story. The kids are pleased with how they are doing in year 11 and you’ve got to hope they pass that on when they get home.

“We’ve accepted that until the new linear GCSEs come in, because of the way the league tables work, we haven't ever had a fair showing, but we think we’re doing the best we can to ensure the kids reach their maximum potential.

“I think that’s quite brave.”