From Middlesbrough to Sunderland, Newcastle to Northumberland, many of the North East’s recent school leavers excelled in their A Levels last year - and their schools have got the stats to prove it.
The Government finally released the latest performance figures for state-funded sixth form colleges and secondary schools on Thursday (February 13), meaning England’s top A Level performers have now been named. We’ve used this new data to compare how those across the region’s local authority areas did, to create a league table of the region’s stand-out sixth forms in the 2023/24 school year.
They have been ranked by their A Level performance point scores, a unique measurement derived from students’ A Level results that gives them a score out of 60. You’ll also see the overall ‘average grades’ each school’s students achieved across their A Level entries - and we’ve only included those with at least a B- average.
We also checked that each school included had an overall Ofsted rating of ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ before this measure was recently dropped, or, if they’ve been inspected more recently, had at least ‘good’ grades across the board. This means that the quality of education provided, student behaviour and attitudes, school leadership and management and student safeguarding were all found to meet or exceed government standards last time the school was inspected.
Here were the 19 state sixth forms from across the North East that made the grade:
5. Cardinal Hume Catholic School
Cardinal Hume is a Catholic secondary school and sixth form in Gateshead. It was formerly rated ‘outstanding’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 academic year, it had an A Level point score of 38.91 - giving it an average grade of B. | Google
6. The King Edward VI School
King Edward VI is a high school and sixth form for students 13 and up in Morpeth, Northumberland. In a recent Ofsted inspection, it was found to be ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ in all categories. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an A Level point score of 38.2 - giving it an average grade of B-. | Google
7. Teesdale School and Sixth Form
This is a secondary school and sixth form in Barnard Castle, County Durham. It was formerly rated ‘outstanding’ overall by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 academic year, it had an A Level point score of 37.93 - giving it an average grade of B-. | Google
8. Sacred Heart Catholic High School
Sacred Heart is a Catholic girls secondary school and sixth form in Newcastle. In a recent inspection, it was rated ‘outstanding’ in all categories by Ofsted. In the 2023/24 school year, it had an A Level point score of 37.85 - giving it an average grade of B-. | Google