WINDSOR High School remains the best secondary school in the Dudley borough according to all-important Progress 8 scores, figures have revealed.

The recently released national revised results for secondary school performance across the country in 2019 show the disparity of school performance across the borough.

Only two schools, Windsor High School in Halesowen and Summerhill School in Kingswinford, rated as ‘above average’ for Progress 8 scores.

The score is used to measure the progress made by pupils over their secondary school career compared to pupils across England who got similar results at the end of Key Stage 2.

They are joined by a handful of schools, including Oldswinford Hospital School, Redhill School and Bishop Milner Catholic College, which dominate the rankings based on different measures of success.

Bishop Milner Catholic College in Dudley was joined by Oldswinford Hospital School and Redhill School, both in Stourbridge, in the top five performing schools for Progress 8 scores.

Oldswinford Hospital and Redhill School topped the table for Attainment 8 scores, which scores schools based on how well pupils have performed in up to eight qualifications, including English, maths, three English Baccalaureate qualifications and three other additional qualifications.

At the other end of the spectrum, excluding special schools from the rankings, The Link Academy was the lowest ranked mainstream school for Progress 8 with a score of -0.49 placing it ‘well below average’.

The Netherton school was joined by Pedmore High School and Ridgewood High School in Stourbridge and Dudley's Pegasus Academy and St James Academy at the bottom of the Progress 8 table.

Five highest ranked schools based on Progress 8 measure

Windsor High School and Sixth Form 0.21

Summerhill School 0.2

Bishop Milner Catholic College 0.2

Old Swinford Hospital 0.16

Redhill School 0.15

Five lowest ranked schools based on Progress 8 measure (excluding special schools)

The Link Academy -0.49

The Pedmore High School -0.44

Ridgewood High School -0.43

Pegasus Academy -0.4

St James Academy -0.37

Mapping the location of schools based on their Progress 8 ranking shows a clear geographical divide between schools which are ranked above or below average.

Location of schools based on Progress 8 scores

Dudley News:

Key

Green: Above average (for Progress 8)

Yellow: Average

Orange: Below average

Six ‘below average’ schools are situated in the north of the borough, in the central Dudley borough and Sedgley areas.

This is compared to just one ‘below average’ school in the Halesowen area; two in Stourbridge and one in Kingswinford. 

The percentage of pupils achieving a grade four or above in English and maths- the equivalent of the old C grade- saw Oldswinford Hospital top the table with 88% of pupils gaining these grades in the two core subjects.

Other high achievers were Redhill with 79% and Ellowes Hall Sports College where 75% of pupils achieved solid passes in English and maths.

Meanwhile, excluding special and independent schools, four schools in the borough saw less than 50% of pupils achieve a C in English and maths. These were Pegasus Academy in Dudley at 47%, Crestwood School in Kingswinford at 42%, Link Academy in Netherton at 41% and St James Academy in Dudley at 35%.

Responding to the figures, which show comparatively less educational progress at secondary schools in his constituency, Dudley North MP Marco Longhi said the results show the need for more investment in the education system.

He told the News: “This highlights the importance of investment into our education system. This new government has already committed to unprecedented levels of new funding. I will be writing to Gavin Williamson MP, the Education Secretary, to highlight my concerns, and to help find ways to overcome these short comings. Helping and inspiring the next generation is one of my top priorities.“

Meanwhile council chiefs said the authority is committed to improving outcomes for all pupils and the results show an improvement on previous years.

Councillor Ruth Buttery, cabinet member for children and young people, said: “As part of our new wider inclusion strategy, Dudley Council is committed to improving outcomes for all pupils.

“We are in regular contact with our schools to discuss performance and offer support to raise outcomes further, as we want all the children in our borough to achieve their potential.

“The results for our Year 11 pupils in 2019 continued to improve on previous years. We are particularly pleased with improvements in certain schools and with English attainment across the borough.

“We are confident that all our secondary schools are working hard to continue to improve outcomes in the future.”