ISC Year 11 Exam Results 2012
GCSE and IGCSE exam results from 564 independent schools show that 31.0% of entries achieved grade A* this year, compared with a national GCSE average of 7.3%.
There has been a 52% rise in the number of IGCSE entries from pupils at Independent Schools Council (ISC) schools. This year ISC schools reported 97,008 IGCSEs taken by their pupils, up from 63,882 last year. 368 schools had pupils taking at least one IGCSE.
Pupils at ISC schools took fewer GCSEs this year: 293,335 down from 318,382 in 2011. IGCSEs now account for 24.9% of year 11 exam entries, up from 16.7% in 2011.
Figures released last week by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) showed the proportion of entries achieving an A* at independent schools falling by 1.1 percentage points to 23.0%. Crucially, however, JCQ figures fail to take account of IGCSEs. ISC’s figures, which include results in IGCSE exams, show a drop of only 0.4 percentage points to 31.0% of entries at ISC schools being graded A. Nationally, the proportion of As awarded fell 0.5 percentage points to 7.3%.
Barnaby Lenon, Chairman, Independent Schools Council said:
"We congratulate ISC schools on this year’s excellent GCSE and IGCSE results, which are testament to the hard work and dedication of both pupils and teachers. With six out of ten entries achieving A* or A grades, independent schools continue to provide pupils with the best preparation to succeed at A-level and progress into higher education."
The results are from 564 ISC schools, representing 390,343 entries from 40,294 candidates. The aggregate data, for both GCSE and IGCSE combined, show that candidates in ISC schools took an average of 9.7 subjects each, and:
31.0% of all exam entries received the A* grade, down from 31.4% last year (national average 7.3%, down from 7.8% in 2011).
60.0% were graded A* or A, down from 61.4% in 2011 (national average 22.4%, down from 23.2% in 2011).
94.4% were graded A* to C, compared with 95.2% in 2011 (nationally, 69.4% were graded A* to C, compared with 69.8% last year).
91.1% achieved five or more A* to C grades including maths and English (national figures for 2012 are not yet available, but in 2011 the national figure was 58.9%). 76.6% of ISC pupils this year achieved five or more A* to C grades including maths, English, a science and a modern foreign language.
In 218 ISC schools (38.7% of the total), every pupil achieved five or more A* to C grades. In a further 133 schools (a further 23.6% of the total) 95% or more of pupils achieved this standard.
For ISC schools as a whole, the figures show that candidates achieved an average total of 483.7 points – approximately equivalent to a nine subject result of 3 A*s and 6 As – and an average subject entry result of 49.9, which is closer to an A than a B.
Ends
Notes to editors:
Year 11 exam results
Results from ISC schools include IGCSE as well as GCSE. ISC continues to believe that there are no grounds for the separation of performance of the IGCSE from the GCSE.
Independent Schools Council
The Independent Schools Council (ISC) brings together eight associations of independent schools, their Heads, bursars and governors. These collectively represent over 1,200 independent schools in the UK and overseas, educating more than half a million children each year.
Barnaby Lenon became chairman of ISC in September 2011 after retiring as head master of Harrow School. He has been on the Ofqual board since May 2012.
Joint Council for Qualifications
For more information on the national figures released by Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), please visit their website: www.jcq.org.uk