Oxford Academy's standards 'must rise' (From The Oxford Times)

Oxford Academy's standards 'must rise'

6:30pm Friday 27th January 2012 in Education By Liam Sloan

Oxford Academy principal Mike Reading

THE OXFORD Academy’s principal says he has set tough new targets for the school, after results fell below the Government’s minimum GCSE targets.

Mike Reading said he wanted 100 per cent of pupils to make the expected rates of progress in English and maths, based on a starting point of their Key Stage Two results. Last year the percentages were 38 and 54.

The academy, which converted from Peers School in 2008, was the only secondary in the county whose results fell below Government targets.

Just 28 per cent of youngsters achieved five A* to C grades at GCSE, including English and maths.

Mr Reading said attainment among youngsters coming into the school was so low that only by all the students making their expected progress would GCSE results be above the Government’s 2012 minimum target of 40 per cent of pupils achieving five good GCSEs, including English and maths.

Nationally, the average is 70 per cent, and no county school currently achieves 100 per cent.

Mr Reading said: “I am not going to turn round and say these are a good set of results.

“They demonstrated that we are here for the long haul.

“That means making sure we make progress, but it does take time to make things happen.”

The school’s results were the 25th worst in England.

Results fell two percentage points from 2010, but remain above the 18 per cent achieved by Peers School in its final year.

The 800-pupil academy in Littlemore already runs a Year Seven programme which provides catch-up for first-year pupils who need extra help.

Mr Reading said boosting literacy levels was his key focus.

He said: “We know weak areas that need improving, and we know improvement can be made.

“Absolutely central to that is giving our children greater confidence in literacy.

“By that I mean the old- fashioned abilities to read well, speak well and write well. That should not only happen in English lessons. It is something we are saying, and Ofsted is saying, should be part of everything we do.”

He added: “In other subjects we need to develop outstanding practice, and give teachers increasing confidence to learn how to go from being good to outstanding.”

Just 19 per cent of low achievers and 50 per cent of high achievers aged 11 made the expected progress in English by the time they sat GCSEs.

Mr Reading said the curriculum would be rearranged next year to provide extra time for core subjects like English and maths. Maths results improved in 2011, with the percentage of students gaining A* to C increasing from 28 per cent to 57 per cent. That followed a challenge from Ofsted to improve maths teaching two years ago.

Mr Reading said: “We have set ourselves challenging goals and are confident that we will demonstrate further successes.”