Schools in North Yorkshire, which covers the Craven area, have performed well above average in new Government figures published today for GCSE and A level examinations.

A new set of accountability measures has been introduced for schools to demonstrate the achievement of all pupils.

According to these new measures North Yorkshire is a top tier authority - above the national average for both progress and attainment, said a spokesman for the authority.

The proportion of students who attained both English and maths places North Yorkshire in the top 20% of authorities nationally, he said.

Up to 67.5 per cent of North Yorkshire’s students attained grade C or above in both English and mathematics – four per cent above the national average of 63.3 per cent.

North Yorkshire outcomes for attainment in the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) were also 4 per cent above the national average, with 29 per cent of students attaining A* - C in a combined suite of English, mathematics, sciences, language and humanities. The proportion of pupils who attained good GCSEs in the separate academic subject areas of mathematics, science and languages was more than 5 per cent above the national average.

North Yorkshire is in the top 10 per cent of councils for high academic success at A-level. The proportion of A level students who attained the highest grades (AAB or better) is 23.5 per cent in the county, compared with 18.5 per cent nationally. The average academic point score for North Yorkshire students was 31.51 in comparison with the national 30.63.

North Yorkshire also has a high proportion of pupils who attend secondary schools which are good or outstanding; 87.4 per cent compared with national average of 82.1 per cent.

“Once again North Yorkshire has performed highly against a set of Government measures” said County Councillor Arthur Barker, North Yorkshire’s Executive Member for Schools. “We must congratulate our school staff, young people and families for this great achievement. In North Yorkshire we are constantly striving to give young people the best in teaching and learning and these outcomes show that we continue to be successful and in the top tier for achievement nationally.”

KEY

Left to right, after the name and type of school, the columns show:

A. The number of pupils eligible for GCSE and equivalent qualifications. This is defined as the number of pupils at the end of Key Stage 4, which usually means all pupils in Year 11.

B. Number of pupils included in Progress 8 measure.

C. Progress 8 measure. The new Progress 8 measure looks at the progress a pupil makes from the end of primary school to the end of secondary school. It is a value added measure, which compares pupils' results with the achievements of other pupils that have the same prior attainment. It measures performance across eight qualifications.

D. Average attainment 8 score per pupil. This measures the achievement of a pupil across 8 qualifications including mathematics and English, which are double-weighted, three further qualifications that count in the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) measure and three other qualifications that can be GCSEs or any other approved equivalent qualification.

E. Percentage of pupils achieving A*-C in both English and mathematics.

F. Percentage of pupils achieving the English Baccalaureate. Pupils achieve the EBacc if they gain at least a C in GCSE maths, English, science, history or geography and a language.

KEY STAGE 5: A-levels and equivalent qualifications.

G. Average point score per academic entry. Academic qualifications include A-levels as well as other academic qualifications such as the International Baccalaureate Diploma.

H. Average point score per academic entry expressed as a grade.

I. Average point score per tech level entry. Technical qualifications include a number of Level 3 (advanced) qualifications for students wishing to specialize in a technical occupation or occupational group (for example, this includes City & Guilds Level 3 Diploma Qualifications)

J. Average point score per tech level entry expressed as a grade.

K. Average point score per applied general entry qualification. These qualifications include, for example some Pearson BTEC Level 3 courses.

L. Average point score per applied general entry expressed as a grade.