St Anne’s Academy - another year…another record

High achievers at St Anne’s Academy

St Anne’s Academy has established new records in GCSE results and that represents seven years of year on year improvement at the Hollin Lane site, a consistency in improvement rarely seen.

Provisional results show that 46% of youngsters have achieved 5 or more high passes including Maths and English and 72% have achieved 5 grade C or above. 9 out of 10 leave with at least 1 high pass and every performance indicator shows improvement.

Principal Eric Jackson said: "These results represent a remarkable achievement for students and teachers at the academy because, against all odds, the results are now in line with, or above, those for the Local Authority and nationally."

The most challenging forecast for the school, based on a national statistical interpretation of the starting point for the year group when they joined the school, was 30% 5 A-C including Maths and English and the Academy scored 46% - very few schools locally, or nationally, exceed their targets by such margins.

Mr Jackson added: "Once again, these results are the result of excellent teaching and the 'can do culture' recognised OFSTED as underpinning the Academy’s work. A good example is found in the exceptional English results that saw some students move from earlier grade E’s to secure grade C’s in the space of a year. Everything is in place for St Anne’s to make another massive leap next year because both year 10 and year 9 students have already banked some passes."

Today, for the first time ever, nine year 9 students will be told that they have passed the Spanish GCSE at the same level normally expected of year 11 students and that pattern of early entry will continue.

Mr Jackson continued: "The results of high ability students have been excellent across a whole range of subjects and they can now look forward to 6th form with great confidence… their results have never been in doubt and that pattern of achievement is well established in the school.

"This year the greatest gains have been seen with lower and mid range students and when the official performance tables are published in January the Academy will be seen to have performed spectacularly well compared with other schools nationally. That is really important to staff, governors and sponsors because from the outset we have been determined to dispel the myth that academys’ results improve because they change the type of students who attend and the expense of those living locally. We have demonstrated that academies can transform the prospects of all students who attend and St Anne’s will continue to be a true community academy but it will adopt the standards , some approaches and the edge of 'the type of school that others would pay good money to attend' because that is what the local population deserve and need. And, when the community see the building we have designed and how it sits in the landscape, they will know exactly what we mean.

"The message is spreading fast and in September it looks like every place in year 7 is spoken for and for the first time a significant number of pupils will be crossing the motorway from Heywood schools, a trend that is set to continue as more and more parents want their children to benefit from the care, support, opportunities and added value that St Anne’s bestows on all students irrespective of the ability at the end of primary school. It is a school that an increasing number of St Anne’s staff are moving their own children to and a school that I wished that I sent my own son to."