From a Rydal Penrhos education
The number of A* grades awarded at GCSE was 49.2 per cent, which is a significant rise of 33.2% from the previous year.
The number of pupils achieving A*-A or 9-7 grades was 62.1 per cent which is significantly higher than the national averages of Wales (25.9%) and England (27.5%).
The number of pupils securing A*-B grades was 87.1 per cent, which is an increase of 17.4% from the 2018/19 academic year.
98.5 per cent of Rydal Penrhos’ GCSE candidates attained A*-C marks, with 97.8 per cent securing this feat in five or more subjects. The mean number of passes per candidate was recorded at 9.1.
GCSE grades compared to national averages
A*-A and 9-7 grades
A*-C and 9-4 grades
A LEVEL RESULTS 2020
The Upper Sixth Form managed to attain a 51.9 per cent pass rate at A*-A, which is the highest in the school’s history since the introduction of the A* grade and represents an increase of 30.5 per cent year on year, with 75.9% achieving A*-B grades.
Those awarded A*-C grades now stand at 90.5 per cent, which is another record and a significant rise of 30.1% from the previous year’s results.
Rydal Penrhos’ pass rate (A*-E) rose to 100 per cent for the sixth time since 2000. And the mean number of subjects passed per candidate was 3.1. Among the top-performing subjects were Mathematics, Physics, Further Mathematics, Chemistry, Art and Design, and English Literature.
Grades compared to National Averages:
A*-A grades
A*-B grades
A*-C grades
A*-D grades
This year the school’s A Level results were in value-added terms the best ever achieved by Rydal Penrhos pupils.
What does this mean? What is “value-added”? And perhaps most importantly how is it one of the best indicators of performance from schools like Rydal Penrhos?
When children arrive in school they are evaluated through tests (most of the time they do not even realise this is what is happening, so it is nothing to worry about). These tests plot the child’s innate ability and performance and can therefore forecast the child’s likely outcome at GCSE and then later at A Level according to the national average.
To “Add Value” means a school can significantly influence a child’s performance through such a high standard of teaching that the projected outcome is improved and therefore they achieve much better grades than they would have done at an average school (i.e. the national average).
At Rydal Penrhos this is the overwhelming outcome, using analysis by the Centre of Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM) based in Gateshead and working in symmetry with the University of Cambridge.
At ‘A’ level our score is 0.5 this means for every ten subjects taken, five of them (i.e. half) have come out with higher grades than forecast. This has meant for example that over the 51 Year 13 pupils who recently left, 100 additional ‘A’ grades were achieved.
Similarly, at GCSE we show strong consistent “Value-added” with a score of 0.8 so again eight out of every ten subjects taken would result in higher scores than predicted. This means that the 36 pupils in Year 11 secured more than 250 higher grades than projected given their prior performance.
We are very pleased with these results and feel it is a good indicator for parents that they are giving their child the very best opportunity to perform to their highest capability and even beyond it.