Response to DFE Published League Tables

As you may have seen in the national press, the Department for Education’s Performance League Tables were published yesterday. We wish to explain why Haileybury, like many other leading independent schools, appears at the bottom of these league tables.

The league tables are based on pupil performance in GCSEs and other accredited qualifications, but do not include the iGCSE, which is currently not recognised by the government. The International GCSE offered by exam boards such as Edexcel is believed by many of our Heads of Department to be a more rigorous, challenging qualification and one which provides a better preparation for Sixth Form study and therefore our pupils are entered for this qualification in a number of subjects including English and Mathematics.

The government’s failure to recognise the iGCSE means that for the purposes of their statistics, rather nonsensically, Haileyburians did not obtain qualifications in English and Mathematics – hence the showing of 0% of our pupils achieving 5 or more GCSEs at A*-C (or equivalent) including English and Maths GCSEs. However, as previously published on the school’s website on 24 August, we were delighted to celebrate record results. When iGCSEs are included, 97.3% of Haileybury’s grades were at A* to C and 62% were awarded A* or A; results of which our pupils can be extremely proud.