Best in the country: Reading’s A Level Results Top National Exam Tables

OFFICIAL figures released by the Department for Education today (23rd January) show that Reading is the highest ranking English local authority for A level results and is just outside the top 10% of LAs for students achieving 5+ A* to C grades in GCSEs.

30.3% of students achieved 3 or more A* – A grades at GCE/Applied GCE A Level and Double Awards, 17.8% higher than the national average. The average point score per student in Reading is 889.7, significantly higher than the national figure of 796.5. These figures mean that Reading is ranked first out of 151 local authorities.

The GCSE figures published today show that the results of Reading pupils continue to improve from previous years and are consistently above the national average.

89.4%% of pupils in Reading achieved 5+ A* to C grades at GCSE, compared to the national figure of 81.8%, and is an increase of 5% on last year’s figures. The average point score per pupil is 509.2, which is 51.3 points above the national figure.

There has been an increase in the number of pupils achieving 5+ A* to C including English and Mathematics from 60.7% in 2012 to 63.6% in 2013, which is above the national figure of 59.2%.

Five of Reading's secondary schools are Academies and are run independently of the local authority. Two secondary schools, Reading Girls and Blessed Hugh Faringdon, remain as local authority maintained schools.

Blessed Hugh Faringdon achieved an outstanding 99% in GCSE pupils achieving 5+ A* to C, the third highest result across all Reading secondaries. Reading Girls achieved 85%, which was 3.9% above the national figure.

The number of pupils leaving school in Reading with at least one qualification now stands at 99.3% which is the national average for state funded schools.

Reading Borough Council's Lead Member for Education and Children's Services, John Ennis, said:

“Once again, the latest results tables demonstrate how Reading schools are succeeding in driving up educational standards with year-on-year improvements.

“My congratulations go to pupils across Reading – it is good to see their hard work rewarded. I'd also like to congratulate headteachers, their teachers and staff here at the Council for their efforts in helping to drive these results up.”

ENDS

Notes for Editors:

Notes for Editors: To aid year-on-year comparisons, overall results included in this release include Academy figures. In order to access individual Academy results however, media need to contact the schools directly.

Media Contact: Anna Fowler
Tel: 0118 937 3957