Ofsted warning against league table standings

Ofsted has highlighted to its inspectors to be aware of schools that are trying to boost their league table scores by crossing over content.

Analysis of last year’s exam results show that some schools may have ‘entered pupils for qualifications specifically to improve overall school results, although this may not have been in the best interests of the pupils’.

This was mainly the result of pupils being entered for combinations of qualifications that had recurring subject content - such as English and English as a second language, or maths and statistics. This can affect school scores on accountability measures, in blurring the proportion of students achieving the required fie GCSEs at grades A* - C.