The Department for Education has issued the latest set of primary school league tables for the UK and it makes for some very interesting reading. These results rank their schools in three categories; what percent of children at that school will get the target level 4 in Maths and English, what percent of students are “high achievers” (the proportion of students likely to achieve significantly above the level 4), and the rather ambiguously titled “value added” score. This, put simply, rates the schools on how much they improve their pupils as they pass through the school. For this reason, the “value added” score is generally regarded as the most indicative of the quality of a school, rather than schools who have smarter kids or more ambitious parents.
With all this in mind, let’s look at some of this week’s results in more detail. Firstly, Broadclyst primary seems to be the best all-rounder. 97% of its students are expected to get Level 4’s at KS2 and their value added score is 102.9. It’s leading the way in the Exeter Area and is second in the whole of Devon. Running a close second on Value Added, St Sidwell’s Primary School is a surprise performer, which is all the more surprising when you consider that 41.5% of students don’t have English as their first language.
The most interesting results for me are, however, the schools that aren’t doing so well. Competition is fierce for places at St Leonard’s Primary School and at Ladysmith Junior School, yet neither of them are really capitalising on the students they’ve got, ranking 17th and 28th respectively in terms of the amount of value added to their students. Furthermore, neither of them are ranked in the top 10 schools for any of the categories. As St Leonards is regarded as the ‘most professional parish’ in Exeter, one might expect more. So while it may be that your child is socialising with the “right” kind of pupils and the school-gate experience is very much more in keeping with the parent’s desires, the children might not be capitalising on their education potential.
So what does all this mean for house buying then? Firstly, it means that buying a house in St Leonard’s Parish shouldn’t be the be-all and end-all of your school choices and there are many alternative options out there for your children, where you get more for your money. Properties in Broadclyst do command a premium on price, but then it’s the whole lifestyle you are paying for with a pretty, idyllic Devon village location with an excellent school. It is likely that with the latest league table, prices are going to be on the up.
In Exeter, properties around St Sidwell’s are much more reasonably priced with plenty of four bedroom properties with a courtyard garden selling for the region of £225k. This area is a little bit of an oddity, as it was significantly influenced by investors snapping up the family size properties for student accommodation. With the recent restrictions on converting houses to multiple occupancy, picking up a bargain around St Sidwells is become a possibility, as long as you don’t mind sharing your street with an ever-decreasing number of students.
Of the 30-odd schools in the Exeter area, there are lots of positives; there are plenty of good schools, the majority of which are doing well at getting the best out of their students, 82% of students will get the level 4 grade (the government standard level) in their year 6 assessments, and some 30% of students in the Exeter area will be classed as high achievers; working at the same level as the government would expect an average 14 year old to work.
Until now, when families moving to Exeter have asked the local agents where they should live to get their child into a good school, the answer would most likely have been St Leonards. In light of the recent results, the advice could soon be changing.
Our Picks:
- Top Overall School: Broadclyst Community Primary School.
Achieving the highest Value Added score in the area, this village school is forward thinking and community based – One of many good reasons to move to Broadclyst!
- Top Inner City School: St Sidwells
A relatively small Church of England school with a definite multi-cultural feel. Popular with Universtiy families and the local community.
- Top Small School: Ide.
Located in a village, just a few hundred yards from the outskirts of Exeter, this school has an intake of only around 15 children per year group. This makes it a contender for those looking for a smaller school with a community feel.
In order of Value Added Score the local league table looks like this:
- Broadclyst Primary Academy Trust
- St Sidwell’s Church of England Primary School
- Exminster Community Primary
- Dunsford Community Primary School
- Redhills Community Primary School
- Woodbury Church of England Primary School
- Exwick Heights Primary School
- Ide Primary School
- Clyst St Mary Primary School
- Kenton Primary School
- Kenn Church of England Primary School
- The Topsham School
- Pinhoe Church of England Primary School
- Stoke Canon Church of England Primary School
- Newtown Primary School
- St Leonard’s (CofE) Primary School (VC)
- Bowhill Primary School
- St Nicholas Catholic Primary School
- Alphington Primary School
- Newton St Cyres Primary School
- St David’s Church of England Primary School
- Brampford Speke Church of England Primary School
- Stoke Hill Junior School
- Clyst Heath Nursery and Community Primary School
- Starcross Primary School
- St Thomas Primary School
- Countess Wear Community School
- Ladysmith Junior School
- St Michael’s Church of England VA Primary School
- Walter Daw Primary School
- Lympstone Church of England Primary School
- Whipton Barton Junior School
The SaleBoards Blog 