College tops government’s new A Level tables

Birkenhead Sixth Form College is the Wirral’s top performing A Level provider in terms of students’ progress, according to the government’s latest school performance tables.

Our A Level results in 2017 show that what our students achieve in their final grades compared to their starting points when joining the institution is nearly twice that of any other school in the area.

The government’s statistics measure what students are expected to achieve at A Level based on their GCSE attainment against their actual results. That progress is then given a score, with Birkenhead Sixth Form College’s figure of 0.25 leading the way in the Wirral, and second place only scoring 0.14.

“What we never forget is that the College’s performance is actually lots of individual performances.  In this case, 572 students from across the Wirral and from a wide range of backgrounds and schools have worked hard and achieved more than they would anywhere else.”

Mike Kilbride, Principal

The College is also one of just two Wirral institutions whose progress score is qualified as ‘above average’, with six other schools achieving ‘average’ results and ten in the bracket of ‘below average’ or ‘well below average’.

Birkenhead Sixth Form College had more than double the number of students sitting A Levels in 2017 than the second largest A Level education provider, with 572 entering for exams. 55% of those students achieved the prestigious high grades and more than 500 went on to university places.

 

CLICK HERE to go to the official statistics from gov.uk

 

Topping the performance table rounds off a remarkable academic year for the College, with Ofsted rating it as ‘Outstanding’ in all areas in 2017, along with national and local accolades recognising the Sixth Form’s contribution to the local community and innovation in education.

Principal at Birkenhead Sixth Form College, Mike Kilbride, said: “I can’t deny that it is nice to be the top of the Wirral performance tables, being ahead of all the grammar schools and the independent school, but that’s not what we focus on.  We will enjoy this for a few days but what we achieve is the result of all the staff working with all our students on the details, day-in and day-out, and that’s what we will be getting on with.”

Mr Kilbride continued: “What we never forget is that the College’s performance is actually lots of individual performances.  In this case, 572 students from across the Wirral and from a wide range of backgrounds and schools have worked hard and achieved more than they would anywhere else.  They have enjoyed their studies, developed as young people and left with great results. That’s what really matters: all those individuals and their own stories.”

Birkenhead Sixth Form College is shortlisted for the national TES Award for ‘Sixth Form College of the Year’, with the winner to be announced on Friday 23^rd February.