School league tables: Find out how your child's school in Doncaster is doing

Pupils at the majority of Doncaster's secondary schools are failing to make the expected progress, the latest education league tables show.
Doncaster Council said the borough's schools were among the most improved in the countryDoncaster Council said the borough's schools were among the most improved in the country
Doncaster Council said the borough's schools were among the most improved in the country

Just four out of 17 secondaries in Doncaster which were rated achieved a positive score in the Government's new 'Progress 8' measure, which compares pupils' performance when they started secondary school with that upon leaving.

Generally speaking, a score of above zero shows students are making better than expected progress, while a negative mark means the opposite.

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Four schools in Doncaster are among more than 280 across England deemed to be 'underperforming', based on the new measure, after receiving a Progress 8 rating of -0.5 or lower.

The council admitted it had 'some way to go', after the Department for Education published the results on Thursday, but said the borough's schools were among the most improved over the last year.

Doncaster's best performing schools, using the Progess 8 rating, are Rossington All Saints Academy, which scored 0.4, and Hungerhill School, with 0.36.

At the opposite end of the table are the borough's 'underperforming' schools: Mexborough Academy (-1.15), Balby Carr Community Academy (-1.11), Ash Hill Academy (-0.68) and Sir Thomas Wharton Community College (-0.68).

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The schools with the highest proportion of pupils achieving the English Baccalaureate (GCSE C grade or better in five core subjects) were the independent Mill House School, with 59%, followed by The McAuley Catholic High School (37%) and The Hayfield School (34%).

The average Progress 8 score across Doncaster's secondary schools was -0.21.

A council spokeswoman said its schools had recorded a five percentage point increase compared with last year in the number of young people bagging five or more A*-C grades including English and maths.

She also said the borough's schools were England's 13th most improved based on their 'Attainment 8' score, which measures achievement across eight qualifications.

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Councillor Nuala Fennelly, the council's cabinet member for children, young people and schools, said: "The figures are actually very positive for Doncaster. We have seen some great improvements in the attainment levels of young people across the borough. We do have some way to go to get further up the league tables, but it is good to see encouraging early results from the many different initiatives we have introduced.

"We have good support from the local business community, which is essential in raising aspirations for young people and providing them employment opportunities. We do, however, need to make sure we work even closer with parents and carers to ensure young people receive the all-round care and support they need to help them achieve their full potential."

The council said the results showed a number of initiatives introduced over the last year, including weekend GCSE revision sessions for students and free study guides for parents showing how best to support their children through the exams period.

It said schools in the borough would benefit further from a new research school, which is being set up using part of the £6 miilion Social Mobility Opportunity Areas Funding.

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Schools minister Nick Gibb said on Thursday: "Today's figures confirm that the hard work of teachers and pupils across the country is leading to higher standards, and for that they should be congratulated."

He added that the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers had narrowed by seven per cent since 2011, and there were now nearly 1.8 million more children in good and outstanding schools than in 2010.

Malcolm Trobe, interim general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: "Congratulations to schools and pupils on these results, which have been achieved against a national backdrop of a funding and recruitment crisis."

He described Progress 8 as a fairer measure of performance than using raw GCSE grades, but warned that the results could be distorted by as few as one or two children at a school missing exams due to illness or a personal crisis.

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School//Progress 8 score (improvement made by students since joining)//Attainment 8 score (achievement across eight qualifications)//Grade C or better in English and maths

GCSE//Achieving English Baccalaureate (GCSE grade C or better in five core subjects)

Rossington All Saints Academy: 0.40 / 51.5 / 64% / 30%

Hungerhill School: 0.36 / 54.5 / 81% / 15%

Outwood Academy Adwick: 0.18 / 48.2 / 63% / 17%

The Hayfield School: 0.02 / 52.4 / 70% / 34%

Hall Cross Academy: -0.03 / 47.3 / 58% / 6%

Outwood Academy Danum: -0.06 / 44.8 / 50% / 13%

The McAuley Catholic High School: -0.07 / 51.5 / 57% / 37%

Campsmount (A Co-Operative Academy): -0.07 / 50.4 / 69% / 11%

De Warenne Academy: -0.10 / 45.9 / 61% / 13%

Don Valley Academy and Performing Arts College: -0.12 / 47.4 / 58% / 17%

Armthorpe Academy: -0.17 / 47.7 / 63% / 5%

Ridgewood School: -0.18 / 53.2 / 76% / 12%

Trinity Academy; -0.22 / 48.6 / 68% / 19%

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Sir Thomas Wharton Community College: -0.68 / 39.8 / 39% / 5%

Ash Hill Academy: -0.68 / 39.8 / 39% / 5%

Balby Carr Community Academy: -1.11 / 36.3 / 43% / 3%

Mexborough Academy: -1.15 / 36.2 / 47% / 10%

Mill House School (Independent): N/A / 62.5 / 93% / 59%