Sophie Scott | Schools Week

Religious Studies GCSE results

Norwich school posts highest ever results on its journey out of Ofsted inadequate

Good news for Hethersett Academy, in Norwich. The number of students achieving five or more A* to C grades, including English and maths, has risen from 58 per cent in 2013 – the same year the school was rated inadequate by Ofsted – to 74 per cent this year, according to provisional figures today. It’s […]

Heads’ fears over GCSE results day

GCSE results day is, rightly so, all about the kids; their triumphs, disappointment, tears and leaps in the air. But what about the headteachers – how do they feel on GCSE results day? Schools Week has spoken to three heads to find out… “It’s something that builds from around April,” said John Tomsett, head […]

How long do GCSE remarks take? An increasingly long time…

Pupils needing GCSE remarks before confirming a college place are waiting increasingly long times, Ofqual figures show. On average, pupils waited an average 11 days last year before receiving the results of remarked individual exams, known as Priority Service 2 reviews. In 2013 the figure was 10 days, and in 2010 it was just seven. […]

Nicky Morgan library campaign branded a ‘hollow gesture’ after closures

Nicky Morgan’s “national mission” to get every eight-year-old enrolled at their local library has been labelled a “hollow gesture” by campaigners who say government cuts have decimated the number of public libraries. The education secretary has today announced plans to team up with comedian and children’s author David Walliams to launch a literacy campaign. The […]

Morgan reveals details of mass migration probe – days after officials refused to release information

Education secretary Nicky Morgan has announced she is planning to widen the scope of her investigation into the impact of mass migration on schools – just days after her department refused to say what the review will actually cover. The Telegraph reported yesterday that Ms Morgan has ordered officials to investigate whether increasing levels of […]

DfE asks for specialist support as Prime Minister says all schools should become academies

The Department for Education (DfE) is calling for £12m worth of specialist support to help develop the academy and free school programme – as the Prime Minister has said he wants all schools to convert. The call for contractors to find sponsors for newly converted academies and help maintain standards comes as Prime Minister David […]

Ofsted releases biographies of all of its HMIs

Ofsted has released an online catalogue of all its HMIs (Her Majesty’s Inspectors). The inspectorate yesterday published an 82-page document profiling each HMI from every sector – education, early years, further education and skills, and social care. The “pen portraits” include whether the HMI has been DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checked and their career […]

ANALYSIS: A level results 2015 subject by subject

A level results saw “no major change” today, with a very minor 0.1 percentage point increase in the overall pass rate. By subject, however, there were some more noticeable differences. As reported earlier, Further Maths saw the biggest jump in the number of A*s awarded to this year’s cohort – taking it up to 29 […]