Most improved schools for progress of disadvantaged students 2024
Discover the top 25 (of 154), learn from 7 observations about the list and dig deeper into the data.
Each year the publication of DfE school performance measures gives us an incredible opportunity to celebrate what’s working in schools - which we don’t do enough - and learn from it.
But looking only at the highest performing schools has its limitations as an approach. It’s only a snap shot in time. It doesn’t tell the school improvement journey. And ultimately, it leaves some heroes unsung.
So, to right those wrongs - and in response to several requests from our members last year - we've produced a list of the most improved schools in the county between 2023 and 2024.
Look them up, reach out to them and see what you can learn from them. Let us know if you’d like us to connect you to them.
This will likely be the last newsletter until the New Year. Have a lovely break.
We - schools - Are In Beta - always learning (when we seek out what’s working and share it).
By using the same methodology we use to identify high performing schools here (schools with 100+ students in the KS4 cohort, of whom at least 25 are disadvantaged), we found 154 schools who have improved the progress for disadvantaged students by 0.5 or more in single year.
Before I reveal who these schools are: what did we learn about them during our analysis?
1. Where were these schools in the country?
Birmingham Local Authority had the largest number of schools (9) on the most improved schools list. County Durham had the next highest number (5).
London was the DfE region with most schools (31) on the list. The North West (25) and the South East (22) were the DfE regions with the next highest numbers of schools on the most improved list.
That said, 123 of the 154 schools outside of the London, which paints a refreshingly non London centric view of success seen in the 2024 top performing schools list for progress of disadvantaged students.
2. What types of schools are they? MATs or LA?
125/154 (81%) of schools are in Multi-Academy Trusts (which is broadly inline with the % of MATs nationally - 80% of secondary schools nationally are in MATs)
29/154 (19%) are local authority schools
15 MATs have more than 1 school on the list. Only 3 MATs had more than 2 schools on the list. Harris Federation had 5. Advance Learning Partnership, Ormiston Academy Trust and Northern Education partnership each had 3
3. What type of schools are in the list in terms of gender?
143/154 (92%) mixed (compared to 89% nationally)
6/154 (0.04%) girls 77 (compared to 0.6% nationally)
5/154 (0.03%) boys (compared to 0.05% nationally)
4. What type of schools are in the list in terms of religious character?
26/154 (16%) had a designated religious character (this is line with the number of similar school (17% are faith based nationally).
5. What do we know about the curriculum choices these schools make in terms of EBacc entry and no. qualifications students take?
The proportion of students entered for EBacc varied widely across schools, with a lowest being at one school who entered 0% students into Ebacc and a high of 92.4% students entered.
The average percentage of students entered into Ebacc was 42.46% (this is higher than the national average 36.32%).
On average these schools entered students into 8.1 subjects, which is greater than national average 7.4.
6. How many of these schools have demonstrated sustained improvement (not just this year)?
22/154 schools have improved every year since 2022
2 schools have improved every year since 2019 - Launceton College (Cornwall) and Churchdown School (Gloucestershire).
Huge congratulations to them.
7. What were their starting points of their 2023-2024 improvement journeys?
147/154 schools started from negative progress scores and jumped up considerably from there.
7 schools remarkably made big jumps from already positive progress starting points- really impressive stuff.
Other top performing schools lists
Looking at the most improved schools was not the only request we had last year.
Here are the other angles you asked for and we looked into for you:
📈 53 schools with sustained year-on-year improvement in outcomes for disadvantaged students in 2024
🗺 By Region: Top-performing schools for progress of disadvantaged students 2024
🏫 Mixed schools: Top-performing schools for progress of disadvantaged students in 2024
🏫 Non-faith schools: Top-performing schools for progress of disadvantaged students in 2024
🏆 93 top performing schools for progress of disadvantaged students 2024
Top 25 secondary schools for the greatest improvement in progress for disadvantaged pupils (2023-2024)
We found 154 schools who helped the 2024 cohort of disadvantaged students achieve at least half a grade more in every subject compared to their peers in the 2023 cohort.
Phenomenal stuff. Congratulations to all. 👏
#1 The Ilfracombe Church of England Academy, part of Athena Learning Trust in Devon, achieved P8 for disadvantaged students of 0.01 in 2024, an increase of +1.36 from 2023.
#2 Sandbach School, part of Sandbach School in Cheshire East, achieved P8 for disadvantaged students of -0.01 in 2024, an increase of +1.24 from 2023.
#3 Wembley High Technology College, part of Wembley Multi Academy Trust in Brent, achieved P8 for disadvantaged students of 1.62 in 2024, an increase of +1.2 from 2023.
#4 West London Free School, part of Knowledge Schools Trust in Hammersmith and Fulham, achieved P8 for disadvantaged students of 0.89 in 2024, an increase of +1.15 from 2023.
#5 Ron Dearing UTC, part of The Ron Dearing Utc in "Kingston upon Hull, City of", achieved P8 for disadvantaged students of 0.28 in 2024, an increase of +1.11 from 2023.
#6 Buxton School, part of The Buxton School Learning Trust in Waltham Forest, achieved P8 for disadvantaged students of 0.3 in 2024, an increase of +1.09 from 2023.
#7 Ash Hill Academy, part of Delta Academies Trust in Doncaster, achieved P8 for disadvantaged students of 0.04 in 2024, an increase of +1.05 from 2023.
#8 St Francis of Assisi Catholic College, Walsall, achieved P8 for disadvantaged students of 0.14 in 2024, an increase of +1.04 from 2023.
#9 The Wavell School, Hampshire, achieved P8 for disadvantaged students of -0.14 in 2024, an increase of +1.02 from 2023.
#10 Turves Green Boys' School, part of Matrix Academy Trust in Birmingham, achieved P8 for disadvantaged students of -0.01 in 2024, an increase of +0.99 from 2023.
#11 Stockport School, Stockport, achieved P8 for disadvantaged students of -0.03 in 2024, an increase of +0.97 from 2023.
#12 Brookfield Community School, Hampshire, achieved P8 for disadvantaged students of -0.08 in 2024, an increase of +0.97 from 2023.
#13 Marshalls Park Academy, part of South West Essex Community Education Trust Limited in Havering, achieved P8 for disadvantaged students of -0.83 in 2024, an increase of +0.96 from 2023.
#14 Ponteland High School, part of Pele Trust in Northumberland, achieved P8 for disadvantaged students of 0.14 in 2024, an increase of +0.94 from 2023.
#15 Castle View Enterprise Academy, part of Castle View Enterprise Academy in Sunderland, achieved P8 for disadvantaged students of -0.26 in 2024, an increase of +0.94 from 2023.
#16 Emmanuel College, Gateshead, achieved P8 for disadvantaged students of 0.38 in 2024, an increase of +0.92 from 2023.
#17 Kingsdale Foundation School, part of The Kingsdale Foundation in Southwark, achieved P8 for disadvantaged students of 0.4 in 2024, an increase of +0.87 from 2023.
#18 The Barlow RC High School and Specialist Science College, Manchester, achieved P8 for disadvantaged students of -0.1 in 2024, an increase of +0.86 from 2023.
#19 Harris Academy Tottenham, part of Harris Federation in Haringey, achieved P8 for disadvantaged students of 0.57 in 2024, an increase of +0.85 from 2023.
#20 Sandhill View Academy, part of Aspire North East Multi Academy Trust in Sunderland, achieved P8 for disadvantaged students of -0.3 in 2024, an increase of +0.85 from 2023.
#21 Lincoln Castle Academy, part of Harbour Learning Trust in Lincolnshire, achieved P8 for disadvantaged students of -0.15 in 2024, an increase of +0.84 from 2023.
#22 The Ramsey Academy, Halstead, part of Bridge Academy Trust in Essex, achieved P8 for disadvantaged students of -0.32 in 2024, an increase of +0.83 from 2023.
#23 The Frances Bardsley Academy for Girls, part of Life Education Trust in Havering, achieved P8 for disadvantaged students of 0.33 in 2024, an increase of +0.81 from 2023.
#24 The Vale Academy, part of Delta Academies Trust in North Lincolnshire, achieved P8 for disadvantaged students of 0.07 in 2024, an increase of +0.81 from 2023.
#25 Oxford Spires Academy, part of Anthem Schools Trust in Oxfordshire, achieved P8 for disadvantaged students of 0.31 in 2024, an increase of +0.8 from 2023.
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On a personal note
The school I trained to teach in didn’t always achieve the best outcomes for our students.
A history of underperformance can make you doubt whether it’s possible to achieve incredible outcomes in challenging contexts.
That doubt can lead to excuses about “our students” from “their backgrounds”.
I’d be lying if I said it had never crossed my mind early in my career.
But it is possible. I’ve seen it the school I trained in, in others I’ve worked at and all the schools we regularly feature in our research.
If you’re looking for inspiration about what’s possible - either for yourself, or your team - dig into these lists:
📈 53 schools with sustained year-on-year improvement in outcomes for disadvantaged students in 2024
🗺 By Region: Top-performing schools for progress of disadvantaged students 2024
🏫 Mixed schools: Top-performing schools for progress of disadvantaged students in 2024
🏫 Non-faith schools: Top-performing schools for progress of disadvantaged students in 2024
🏆 93 top performing schools for progress of disadvantaged students 2024
Thanks for reading.
@NiallAlcock and the We Are In Beta team
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