How every secondary school in North Northamptonshire performed in the 2023 government Progress 8 league tables

New Department for Education data has been published, which shows the academic progress of pupils who sat their GCSE exams earlier this year.

The Progress 8 score was introduced in 2016 as a new way to assess performance rather than looking at school’s grades – which can be heavily skewed by factors such as catchment, entrance exams and the affluence of parents.

We’ve collated results from all secondary schools in North Northamptonshire. It’s important to remember that Progress 8 is just one measure of how a school is doing. When choosing a school, it’s also important to read Ofsted reports, take a look at overall results and to visit the school to get a feel for the environment your child will be learning in.

There are ongoing Covid-related issues affecting schools that may or may not be reflected in Progress 8 grades.

Each school is given a statistically calculated positive or negative score by the Government, which is used to assess the progress made by pupils of the same assessed starting point when they sat their Standard Assessment Tests (SATs) in Year 6 and the results then achieved in their GCSEs in Year 11.

A score above zero shows that pupils made more progress, on average, than pupils across England who got similar results at the end of Year 6 while a score below means, on average, they made less.

Nine North Northamptonshire school had positive readings, while eleven had a negative value.

We have not included special schools in our coverage.

After inflated results during the Covid pandemic, exam boards were this year directed to ensure attainment returned to be in line with pre-pandemic levels.

These are the provisional results and so there may be alterations following the incorporation of any remarked exam papers. Updated Progress 8 scores will be released in February 2024.

You can see the results for yourself on the DfE website here.

How are Progress 8 scores calculated?

A Progress 8 score is calculated based on how pupils have performed in eight subjects, including English, Maths and the sciences and statistically assessing their scores, on average, against how pupils with the same Year 6 SATs results nationally have performed in their GCSEs.

A value is then given for the school as to whether pupils have made the expected amount of progress.

The scores awarded for Maths and English are given double weighting, to reflect the importance of these subjects. Other subjects included in a Progress 8 calculation includes Computer Science, History, Geography and languages.

A score of plus one means that pupils with the same SATs results are achieving, on average, one grade more than their national peers in their GCSEs, while a score of minus one, means on average they are attaining one grade less.

Check out the following results to see how your son or daughter’s school has performed.