ESA GCSE and Level 2 Outcomes
We are pleased to report that we have seen some really excellent results at key stage 4 especially in English and across our specialist subjects. While our maths results are more disappointing, it is important to understand ESA’s results within our unique (and wonderful) context. Students don’t join ESA until year 10, therefore we assess students when they join us and measure their progress from that starting point. We do not record or measure our results in the same way as orthodox secondary schools. In a year when the UK Government is promoting the value of vocational and applied education, we are proud to be a leading UTC [University Technical College] providing a specialised technical and applied industry curriculum to 14 to 19 year olds. With that in mind, we are pleased to report the following outcomes for ESA students:
47% of students achieved grade 4 or above in English and maths
76% of students achieved grade 4 or above in English (5% above national average)
54% of students achieved grade 5 or above in English
78% of students achieved grade 4 or above in Photography
88% of students achieved L2 Pass or above in Media Production (with 65% achieving Merits and Distinctions)
97% of students achieved L2 Pass or above in Specialist Production Hair and Makeup (with 71% achieving Merits and Distinctions)
95% of students achieved L2 Pass or above in Music Performance (with 90% achieving Merits and Distinctions)
100% of students achieved L2 Pass or above in Dance (with 92% achieving Merits and Distinctions)
100% of students achieved L2 Pass or above in Games Design (with 50% achieving Merits and Distinctions)
ESA is a specialist educator in the creative arts, providing a culture curriculum with a focus on media, production and the creative technologies supporting film, TV and theatre. We are therefore delighted that our specialist subjects have seen some simply brilliant results.
No SEND gap at ESA for the 2nd year in a row!
ESA is an inclusive school, so we are really pleased that students with Special Educational Needs or Disabilities [SEND] made excellent progress. Nationally, there is a gap between the achievement of SEND students when compared with the achievements of those without SEND, at ESA there is no gap! In fact, progress scores for students on our SEND register are marginally higher than the cohort as a whole. This is impressive with the average SEND learner making over half a grade of progress beyond their projected outcomes.
‘Beat that target.’
As wonderful as it is to see excellent results, what matters more is the progress students make. At ESA we get very excited when students achieve and surpass their projected grades because this shows the ambition and resilience of our learners. We are delighted that 62% of all grades are on or above target grade, with 41% of students surpassing their target grade. Whatever grade you got, if it was better than your target grade, then you are an absolute superhero.
