• A fifth of schools saw their national league table position change by over 500 places using the adjusted Progress 8 measure;
• In the North East, schools on average were ranked 361 places higher; in the North West, 107 places higher; and in Yorkshire, 82 places higher;
• Schools with the highest numbers of long-term disadvantaged children in the country including from Yorkshire and the Humber and North West make the top 10 of all schools

Secondary school league tables continue to misrepresent the performance of schools by failing to show the difference when pupil background is taken into account, according to the Fair Secondary School Index published by the Northern Powerhouse Partnership today [29 October].

As the deadline for secondary school applications closes this week, latest research from the University of Bristol shows that once factors such as pupil ethnicity, deprivation and special educational needs are taken into account, a fifth of schools saw their national league table position change by over 500 places.

Critically, more than half [51%] of schools across England currently judged to be ‘underperforming’ would no longer fall into this category. These are the striking findings from the latest study by Dr George Leckie and Professor Harvey Goldstein from the Centre for Multilevel Modelling at the University of Bristol who analysed the 2018 data from all 3,165 state-maintained secondary schools in England.

They looked at ‘Progress 8’, the headline measure used by the Department of Education to assess progress made by pupils during their time at secondary school. It was introduced in 2016 and compares GCSE results to Key Stage 2 test results, which the Government argues takes prior attainment into account when judging progress.

The findings are consistent with previous research published by the Northern Powerhouse Partnership from Education Data Lab which showed many working-class girls and boys from less well-off homes and groups including those from white ethnic backgrounds do worse overall currently.

Whilst many secondary schools in the North are still lagging behind the rest of the country, when taking into account pupil background, many of these schools perform considerably better than the government’s own league tables would suggest. In the North East, for example, schools on average were ranked 361 places higher using the adjusted measure. In the North West, schools of average were ranked 107 places higher.

According to the Fair Secondary School Index, Dixons Trinity Academy in Bradford is the best school in England.

It is a significant achievement that schools with high proportions of children from long term disadvantaged backgrounds, identified by previous Education Data Lab research, are among the highest performing, with two in the North achieving top ten positions in the national rankings in the Fair Secondary School Index. These include Kingswood Academy in Hull (up 158 places from its ranking under Progress 8 to 7^th) and Ormiston Chadwick Academy in Halton (up 119 places to 8^th).

Lucy Powell, MP for Manchester Central and member of the Education Select Committee commented:  

“The League Tables and data that we use to judge schools are often more a measure of the school’s intake than the quality of teaching, learning and real progress being made in that school. Indeed, Ofsted themselves often reward these same measures, and therefore a school’s intake, when giving their judgements as headteachers and others have warned.  

“This independent Fair Secondary School Index uses much more detailed data and analysis to arrive at fairer and deeper understandings of what makes a good school, often turning League Table standings on their heads. We can see from this that some schools operating in the most challenging contexts are doing an outstanding job. Other schools that may have previously escaped scrutiny actually require support. 

“This is ground-breaking work by the Norther Powerhouse Partnership with Bristol University and I hope it is taken up wholeheartedly by the Department for Education, Ofsted and all those working on improving schools.” 

Henri Murison, Director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership commented:

“The government hasn’t had a consistent focus on improving education standards in the Northern Powerhouse. Unless we devolve more powers and funding, establishing a new Northern Schools Board to oversee currently unaccountable Schools Commissioners and a centre for what works in schools in disadvantaged areas, we will not be able to close the skills gap even with much more devolution and increased funding for Further Education to our Metro Mayors and combined authorities.”

“Following the publication of this Index, the Northern Powerhouse Partnership  will make recommendations to all parties on what must be done to deal with the underlying causes including in the early years of the disadvantage gap, with commitments for funding education needing to include at least £1 billion each year for five years to support the long term disadvantaged in the North in particular. That must be our priority if we are to close the North-South economic divide, alongside investing in transformational transport infrastructure for instance.”

Over 550 schools are set to take part in this year’s Tomorrow’s Engineers EEP Robotics Challenge and have the chance to be crowned UK winners at the competition finals taking place at The Big Bang Fair in March 2020.

The students will build, program and control LEGO robots for a series of environmentally themed missions to discover what engineers can do to create a cleaner, more sustainable world.

As part of the Challenge, the student teams will build a LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Education EV3 robot and program it to complete a speed and control test and perform a set of environmentally themed tasks such as planting a tree. Students will also work as a team to present an idea of how engineers can help future-proof the world.

Dr Hilary Leevers, CEO of EngineeringUK, said: “We’ve seen young people around the world coming together to demand action over climate change. The next generation can be part of the solution by choosing engineering careers that will be central to generating affordable and sustainable energy, and to solving other global challenges that they care about, like access to clean water and sanitation. We need creative thinkers with a range of skills and perspectives working together to secure our future.

“The new environmental challenge was chosen for the Tomorrow’s Engineers EEP Robotics Challenge to address an issue that many of us are passionate about and inspire students as they discover exciting new skills and careers in engineering, technology, robotics and computing.”

Demand for engineering skills is high and will continue to rise in the future – EngineeringUK estimates that the UK needs tens of thousands more engineers annually.

Dr Leevers adds: “Communicating the breadth and variety of engineering careers to young people is vital for the future of the UK economy, if the engineering community is to keep inspiring the next generation of engineers.”

Now in its fifth year the Tomorrow’s Engineers EEP Robotics Challenge encourages young people to put coding and team work skills to work. The Challenge aims to help students discover exciting new careers allowing schools to achieve some of their Gatsby benchmarks. As well as students, teachers also benefit from taking part in the Challenge and are well-supported through professional development training days and online mentoring.

Marc Fleming, Headteacher of McLaren High School in Callander, Scotland and reoccurring UK finalists, said: “For those teachers who have attended Tomorrow’s Engineers EEP Robotics Challenge competitions, they have all stated that the process has improved wellbeing outcomes, through increased confidence, improved self-esteem and a greater enthusiasm for STEM subjects.

“If you are a school who is thinking of taking part for the first time, do not hesitate in taking up the challenge, your young people will love it.”

To find out more and apply to be a volunteer, visit: www.tomorrowsengineers.org.uk/robotics  

London, 25th October 2019. Heart FM radio presenter, Jenni Falconer, was in Tilbury this week learning about robotics in the real world through a new programme called Amazon Future Engineer, which aims to inspire UK school children of all ages topursue careers in computer science and coding.

Jenni and daughter Ella, eight, visited Amazon’s fulfilment centre on Windrush Road to experience a free robotics workshop, learning to programme palm-size robots that use similar technology to that which is used by the robots that fulfil customer orders across Amazon’s 17 UK fulfilment centres. The training – specifically geared towards primary school pupils – has been devised together with Fire Tech Camp and is accredited by the British Science Association.

Caption: By drawing lines with coloured pens and creating a code on a tablet, Jenni and Ella sent commands to palm-size robots that use similar technology to that used by kiva robots, which fulfil customer orders in Amazon’s fulfilment centres. 

‘Amazon Future Engineer’ is a comprehensive childhood-to-career initiative, with a goal to help more than one million children and young people of all backgrounds to try computer science over the next two years.

Paul Atkins-Barker, an Amazon tour leader running the programme in Tilbury said: “It was privilege to welcome Jenni and her daughter to Essex. We’ve opened our doors to show how coding and robotics are applied in the real world, giving children hands-on demonstrations using miniature robots then taking them on a tour of our fulfilment centre to show how the same kind of technology is applied right here where we work”.

Amazon Future Engineer has been launched as new independent economic research by Capital Economics reveals that the UK needs an additional 38,000 workers with computer science-related skills, including 21,000 computer science graduates, to meet labour demands every year. Without addressing this issue, the economy faces losing out on an estimated £33 billion per year by 2030.

Speaking after the workshop, Jenni Falconer said:

“When I was growing up, I loved computer science and unusually for my generation, I got to try coding at school and really enjoyed it. In saying that, it was a far more basic level then! Things have advanced so much today – the learning opportunities are endless. Now the world has moved forward, it is so important for all children to have computer science lessons, as well as hands-on experience of STEM projects that bring these subjects to life. What’s even more exciting is that today, girls, just as much as boys, are embracing and enjoying learning this information. My daughter has loved every second of today’s robotics workshop and what I’ve also learnt is that coding is really fun and anyone can do it! Thanks to Amazon Future Engineer, even more children will now also have an opportunity to have a go!”

As part of their robotics workshop, Jenni and Ella took part in a tour of Amazon’s Tilbury fulfilment centre which included seeing the Kiva robots in action and seeing how robotics is applied in the real world. 

As well as holding robotics workshops in its fulfilment centres for primary school children, for secondary schools, Amazon is working with the education charity Teach First to support the recruitment and training of 50 secondary school computer science teachers. They will also support with the training of over 200 Teach First ‘Careers Leaders’, a programme run by the charity which supports leaders in schools to develop a long-term school wide careers strategy to improve students’ opportunities. After two years of running Amazon Future Engineer in the UK, this investment in teachers is expected to benefit 50,000 secondary school students.

Part of their fulfilment centre tour took Jenni and Ella to a packing station at Amazon’s Tilbury fulfilment centre. 

In higher education, Amazon is funding 120 STEM apprenticeships in software development engineering, automation and advanced mechatronics – enabling a diverse range of applicants to enter the computer science field. In addition, Amazon is funding 20 bursaries for students studying computer science at UK universities, helping students from lower-income backgrounds to pursue technology careers.

Amazon Future Engineer is part of the Amazon in the Community programme, which aims to ensure more children and young adults have the resources and skills they need to build their best and brightest futures, especially those from lower-income communities in areas where Amazon has a physical presence.

Schools and families wishing to find out more about how Amazon Future Engineer is supporting teacher training, apprenticeships and bursaries, can do so by visiting: www.amazonfuturengineer.co.uk  

To find out more more about the Amazon in the Community programme, please visit: https://www.aboutamazon.co.uk/amazon-in-the-community

An independent school group will launch a new private secondary school in Maida Vale after securing seven-figure bank funding.

Gardener Schools Group has used the multi-million-pound funding from NatWest to purchase the former Westminster College campus building on Saltram Crescent, which has lain unused for the last seven years.

The funding has also enabled a 12-month fit out programme, which is currently underway and will transform the space into a fully functional school. The new facility will be able to accommodate up to 600 pupils, aged between 11 and 18 from the local area.

The space will feature 40 classrooms, recreational spaces and a roof terrace for the school’s sixth form students.

Maida Vale School will welcome its first pupils in September 2020 and is in the process of accepting applications for the spaces available.

Gardener Schools Group was established and founded by head mistress Maria Gardener in 1991, who recognised a need for private schooling for mixed ability children in her local area. The group pursues excellence and innovation while establishing strong family communities at each of its four schools.

Sophie Hill, business development manager for the group said: “Six years ago we opened the first senior school for 11-18-year-olds in London. There was such a high demand for more, we knew we needed to invest in a second site and the former college campus in Maida Vale was perfect for this.

“With the help of NatWest we’ve secured the funds needed to purchase the building and invest in an extensive refurbishment programme to turn what is currently a traditional school building into a state of the art learning environment for our pupils. At Gardener Schools Group, we look at education differently and go above and beyond what is seen as the usual teaching model, ensuring our pupils get the best teaching and facilities on offer and help prepare them for the real world beyond the school walls.”

Steve Rengger, Relationship Manager at NatWest said: “The funding we have provided has enabled the Gardeners School Group to grow and welcome more pupils. We will continue to support the group as it establishes itself in London and expands over the coming years.”

• On average in the UK we each throw away over 34kg of plastic packaging every year – nearly the weight of 5,000 pencils 

• More than 8 in 10 of us are actively trying to reduce the amount of plastic we throw away

Thousands of primary and secondary school pupils have joined a major new campaign to drastically cut the consumption of single-use plastic in UK schools. 

More than 7,000 pupils, across 12 schools, have signed up to Plastic Pioneers – a campaign led by environmental charity Hubbub, and sponsored by retailers TK Maxx and Homesense. 

The schools benefit from being part of a community stretching from Scotland to the south coast, sharing ideas on how to reduce their consumption of single-use plastic. 

As part of the campaign, pupils form a Plastic Pioneers committee and audit their school’s consumption of single-use plastic. They then advise on – and experiment with – ways to reduce single-use plastic, coming up with their own initiatives including replacing plastic bottles with reusable ones, banning yoghurt pots and rethinking lunchtime packaging. 

Committee members wear Plastic Pioneers badges to encourage their classmates to think carefully about their consumption of single-use plastic. 

They have also scheduled workshops with expert guest speakers, including Dan Webb, who last week launched the Everyday Plastic Survey – a nationwide campaign to enable participants to discover more about their plastic footprint; TEDx teen speaker, Amy Meek, from Kids Against Plastic and Mel Fisher, who runs Christmas markets with zero waste brands. 

Researchers have found that on average in the UK we each throw away over 34kg of plastic packaging every year – nearly the weight of 5,000 pencils. Much of this cannot be recycled and ends up in landfill, floating around in our rivers and oceans. 

In December, the government urged schools to stop using single-use plastic items such as bags, straws, bottles and plastic food packaging by 2022, and to consider environmentally friendly alternatives instead. 

Natalie Bayliss, Creative Partner at Hubbub, who is leading the Plastic Pioneers campaign, said each school involved in the campaign has been coming up with different, innovative ways to cut down on single-use plastic.

“Pupils up and down the country have devised some brilliant ideas – from cutting out plastic in canteens to experimenting with alternatives to plastic prizes at school events,” she said. 

“Single-use plastic is everywhere and our schools are no exception. It’s so ubiquitous, we often don’t even register it’s there. “And yet it’s having an extremely damaging impact on our wildlife and environment. This campaign helps empower young people to challenge whether single-use plastic really needs to be used and to come up with alternatives.” 

A YouGov survey in April showed just under half of us – 46% – feel guilty about the amount of plastic we use, while more than eight in 10 of us are actively trying to reduce the amount we throw away. 

At Westhoughton High School in Bolton, 35 pupils are on the Plastic Pioneers Committee. They presuaded the school to stop selling bottled water and through the campaign, have provided classmates with reusable bottles, which Plastic Pioneers pupils helped design. They have also removed plastic packaging from their canteen. 

At Saint Gabriel’s College in Lambeth, the Plastic Pioneers campaign has helped put sustainability at the top of the school’s agenda. Hazel Millar, Head of Key Stage 3 Science and Plastic Pioneers Coordinator, Saint Gabriel’s College, said: “The crucial thing about this campaign is that it is student-led. It has shown my students that they have a voice. Their ideas on how to reduce single-use plastic have been taken up by the whole of the school with huge enthusiasm.” 

Just as the schools are looking at ways to cut consumption of single-use plastic, Plastic Pioneers sponsors TK Maxx and Homesense have so far removed the nine biggest contributors to ocean waste plastic from their stores and offices. These include plastic drink bottles, single use carrier bags, straws, plastic cups and non-biodegradable wipes. 

Next year, all the schools involved in the Plastic Pioneers campaign will report back on the single initiative that has made the biggest difference to cutting the consumption of single-use plastic in their school. 

For more information on Plastic Pioneers, contact Natalie Bayliss at hello@hubbub.org.uk