St John’s Exam results 2020

Value Added: 93% of our students achieved their individual CAT 4 Target Grade or above! (up to 4 GCSE grades above statistical  prediction!) 69% achieved between 1 and 4 grades improvement.

95% of all GCSE/ IGCSE  grades achieved Grade 4 or above

 There is still huge national debate about grade inflation, the discredited examination algorithm and to what extent grades are comparable from one year to another or even one school to another. There is no debate however, how hard our students worked right up to grade submission dates, both to achieve their deserved grades as well as to have a though preparation and platform for future A level and BTEC studies. We are so proud of them all in terms of their work ethic, adaptability, time-management, empathy for their classmates, as well as their resilience. The above results, particularly value added, have been the icing on the cake for us as explained below.

 At St John’s, as in all schools, our Teaching staff laboured for days on fair and moderated grade submissions as well as complex rankings, which were all duly forwarded to CIE (International GCSE) as well as Pearson-Edexcel. We still feel that we know our students better than any algorithm, and that by ethical and realistic grade submission, we really were helping our students choose the correct courses for their futures – absolutely no grade inflation.  As is generally known, Exam Boards eventually used CAGs (Centre or Teacher Assessed grades, moderated and submitted by the Head of Centre) in cases where grades were to be unrealistically down-graded.  We have therefore used our own submitted  grades in the calculations of our statistics, rather than the exam board generated data, which was actually much higher in several cases. While we are extremely proud of our overall exam results this year, we would like to stress how this “small Devon School with a big heart” has helped change students’ lives by massive value added in many cases, allowing students to attend their first choice 6^th form and academic course, and follow their dreams.  With small class sizes and dedicated staff, the value added is not surprising, but it was a challenging year. Value Added is the difference between the actual published GCSE score and that predicted at the beginning of Year 10 by a statistical test called the “CAT 4”; and as mentioned, some students achieved 4 complete grades over prediction! So congratulations to each and every one of our students, thanks to the professional staff body, and a huge thank you to our wonderful families who have supported us throughout, and believe in us.

 If you would like more details about these results, or general information about Devon’s best kept secret, with an idyllic, spacious and woodland campus overlooking Sidmouth bay, then please do not hesitate in contacting sarah.frost@iesmail.com, Admissions’ Director.