Results for the highest achieving have been revealed for the first time in a report going to Cardiff Council.
The city’s most over subscribed school, Cardiff High had the highest per centage of pupils achieving five A* to A GCSES at the end of year 11 in August 2019.
An impressive 55% of the school’s 238 year 11 pupils got five A* to A GCSEs, Cardiff’s Education Annual Performance Report 2018/19 shows.
Overall 24% of year 11 pupils across the city achieved those top scores, well above the Welsh average of 18%, the document from Cardiff’s director of education Nick Batchelar says.
Overall the report, going to the children and young people scrutiny committee on January 21 says: “Educational outcomes for children and young people in Cardiff have improved over the past five years...
“... School places are being increased in line with population growth in the city in both mainstream and specialist settings.”
The number of schools in the best green category in Welsh Government colour rankings went up in 2019 and those in the worst red ranking fell to just two.
But the report warns the system isn’t working for all. Attainment gaps between girls and boys and those on free school meals and their peers still need addressing.
Last year 366 pupils were moved around schools and 45 pupils were permanently excluded.
“Of concern is the increasing number of pupils at both primary, and more acutely at secondary schools, who are on reduced timetables and in some cases spending undue periods of time moving between schools during the year,” the report adds.
Surge in home education
There has been a leap in numbers of pupils electively home educated in Cardiff from 163 in 2015 to 229 in 2019 with increases every year for the last four years.
Rise in additional learning needs
In the last 5 years, the numbers of pupils with ALN and assessed at School Action Plus or receiving a Statement of Educational Needs has increased by 14.1% to 645 pupils).
Key points from the report
- Of the 21 Cardiff schools inspected during the academic year 2018/19 , 16 were judged to be good or excellent for standards, 17 for well-being, 15 for teaching and learning, 17 for care, support and guidance and 16 for leadership and management.
- The number of schools categorised as the highest green in Welsh Government colour ranking has increased in the last year. In January 2019, 70 out of Cardiff’s 127 schools were green schools, compared to 65 in January 2018. The number of lowest colour ranked red schools fell to just to two in 2019.
- Performance in GCSE years is above both the national and local averages, in all measures except the Skills Challenge Certificate element of the Welsh Baccalaureate.
At post-16 Cardiff school results are in the top 25% of providers in Wales.
Numbers of pupils not going on to education, employment or training (EET) are falling.
Gender gap
Girls outperform boys and there is a need to improve outcomes for boys at all key stages, in particular in English language, the report says.
At primary school girls in Cardiff outperformed boys in all core subjects and areas of learning from age four to 11.
At Key Stage 4, the GCSE years when pupils are aged 14 to 16, girls outperformed boys in all measures.
“Of particular note at Key Stage 4 is the performance of White British Boys eligible for free school meals, which is particularly low,” the document warns.
“The relatively lower achievement of boys, and especially those who are white British (and eligible for free school meals) has been an increasingly evident feature of education outcomes in Cardiff, as elsewhere for some time.
“More focused action is needed to understand the reasoning behind these outcomes, to identify any areas of best practice in the city where boys’ outcomes are more positive and to develop appropriate targeted
plans of action to improve performance.
This is how Estyn rates Cardiff’s schools
The report also details how inspectors judged Cardiff schools it inspected between September 2017 and September 2019.
Of all schools inspected in the 2018/19 academic year, 76.2% across Cardiff were judged good or excellent for standards or current performance.
In December 2019, six schools were in an Estyn improvement category, two less than in December 2018.
On standards 74% are judged good or excellent by inspectors.
Estyn outcomes for schools inspected between September 2017 and 2019
Special measures
St Peter’s Primary
Under Estyn Review
Cardiff West Community High
St Iltyd’s Roman Catholic High
Pontprennau Primary
Ton-yr-Wen Primary
In need of significant improvement
St Alban’s Primary
The schools where standards are judged good
Primary
Ysgol y Berllan Deg
Roath Park
Lansdowne
Tongwynlais
Pwll Coch
Springwood
Moorland
Windsor Clive
Ton-yr-Wen
Ysgol Pen y Bryn
Peter Lea
Ysgol Pen y Pil
Meadowlane
Marlborough
Bishop Childs’
Radyr
Grangetown
Millbank
Tremorfa
St John Lloyd
St Monica’s
St Mary the Virgin
Treganna
Secondary
Bro Edern
Cantonian
Special
The Hollies
The schools where standards are judged excellent
Primary
Mount Stuart
Ysgol y Wern
Rhydpennau
St Philip Evans
Secondary
Cardiff High
Bishop of Llandaff Church in Wales High
Schools where standards are judged adequate and in need of improvement
Primary
Hawthorn
Ysgol Coed y Gof
St Peter’s
Secondary
Willows High
Cardiff West Community High
St Iltyd’s Roman Catholic High
* Schools not listed were not inspected by Estyn in the September 2017-2019 timescale
The annual education report from Cardiff’s director of education Nick Batchelar will be presented to the council’s children and young people scrutiny committee on January 21
