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Posted on: 30/03/2023Danes Educational Trust ranks top in Hertfordshire for all key measures in DfE report
At the beginning of March 2023 the DfE published Multi Academy Trust (MAT) performance data for the first time in three years.
Key Stage 4 performance data for Danes Educational Trust, which includes four eligible secondary schools: Chancellor’s School in Potter’s Bar, Croxley Danes School in Rickmansworth, Onslow St Audrey’s School in Hatfield, and St Clement Danes School in Chorleywood, has ensured Danes Educational Trust is ranked top in Hertfordshire for all key measures. Established in 2016 and now comprising 9 schools, the Trust is also ranked 2nd in the East of England for Attainment 8, Grade 5 and above in English and Maths and EBacc Average Point Score (APS) and 4th in the East of England for Progress 8. Nationally, for Attainment 8, Grade 5 and above in English and Maths and EBacc APS, Danes Educational Trust students are ranked in the top 10 of 193 MATs who are included in these measures and 14th nationally for Progress 8.
Progress 8, a measure of students' progress from Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 4, shows on average that students who are part of Danes Educational Trust out-perform similar learners nationally by almost half a grade. The proportion of students in the Trust achieving the EBacc is also above the National Average, with 64% passing both English and Maths with a Strong Pass of Grade 5 and above as opposed to a Hertfordshire Average of 57% and a National Average of 50%.
Rachel Brindley, Director of Education for secondary provision at Danes Educational Trust, said: ‘While this data should be used cautiously in light of COVID’s uneven impact and the changes that were made to exams and grading, it does bear testament to the consistently collaborative, focused, thoughtful and unwavering efforts colleagues went to to ensure our students were safe, cared for and on track for a future beyond the pandemic. After a period of so much upheaval and disruption - none of which our children should have borne - we are delighted they have achieved so much. They, their families and their broader communities should be very proud.’.
Individually, Danes Educational Trust schools have also performed well. In 2022 Croxley Danes School received its first set of GCSE results with 60% achieving a Strong Pass in English and Maths, as did students at Chancellor’s School. St Clement Danes School scored in the top 10% in the country across all subjects. Onslow St Audrey’s School saw an improvement on all pre-pandemic measures over time and is well on its way - under the new and energetic leadership of Julie Jones - to becoming the school of choice for the Hatfield community.
You can read the full details for trusts across the UK here:
https://www.find-school-performance-data.service.gov.uk/
Posted on: 26/08/2022‘Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.’ Helen Keller
Last year, still significantly affected by the ongoing disruption to education caused by the pandemic, we entitled our ‘Results’ Article’ of 13 August, ‘Adaptability, Creativity, Courage…And a smattering of Hope’.
This year, following receipt of externally validated data for both our Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5 cohorts, we can truly say that our hopes and those of our resilient, extraordinary learners have been realised.
We are proud of each and every one of our students and celebrate below with a snapshot of individual ‘success’ stories.
Tremendous efforts at all four of our secondary schools with Post-16 cohorts have resulted in our students being able to pursue exciting and well-deserved futures at a range of destinations. At Onslow St Audrey’s School, Chancellor’s School and St Clement Danes School, students gained places at Oxford and Cambridge. Our students will be reading Medicine at Gonville and Caius, Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at Selwyn College, History at Balliol, Computer Science at King’s and Natural Sciences at Emmanuel. Four further students will read Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine and Science at UCL, Sheffield, Queen Mary and Surrey.
Exceptional attainment was seen at Chancellor’s School and Onslow St Audrey’s where eight students gained 19 A*s, 6 As and a Dist* between them. They will read from the full range of subjects including Chemistry, Computer Science, English, Economics, Engineering, History, Law and Mathematics at some of the country’s most prestigious universities including Durham, Exeter, Liverpool, London, Nottingham, Sheffield, York and Warwick. At St Clement Danes School, 54% of A Level entries were graded A* or A with the Best 3 A Levels Average Point Score equivalent to an A- Grade at 45.4.
Meanwhile at Elstree Screen Arts Academy (ESA), a UK Centre of Screen Excellence for the CraftSkills Traineeship, 100% of post-18 trainees have found employment, training or freelance work within the creative sector. As a specialist centre for media and production arts, there have been some amazing outcomes in Photography, Game Design, Film Studies, Dance, Production Arts Technology, Production Make Up, Music Performance and Musical Theatre.
Notable student successes at ESA include four students gaining 8 Dist*s, 2 A*s and 2 A grades in a range of vocational and academic courses. Three of them will go on to study Musical Theatre (Triple Threat), Popular Music and Make Up at University of Chichester, Goldsmith’s and Arts University, Bournemouth while Maya N has enrolled in the Year 14 CraftSkills Traineeship at ESA for Production Assistants. It is wonderful to see ESA becoming a pipeline of talent into the creative industries and our Trust students becoming the future creatives of film and TV. Destinations 2022 include: Sky, Warner Bros, Netflix, Panavision, White light and RADA.
We also celebrate those students for whom progress has been exceptional. Particular congratulations go to Sofia S from Onslow St Audrey’s who will be taking up a Sports Coaching Apprenticeship with Premier Education and Redon S, Jonathan P and Sylvie M-L from Chancellor’s who will read Mathematics and Computer Science at Birmingham, Aeronautics and Astronautics at Southampton and International Relations at Leeds respectively.
Our Key Stage 4 students are no less to be congratulated. When we remember that the last time they experienced a non-pandemic year was when they were in Year 8, to know that their commitment, combined with the phenomenal support they have received, has resulted in such success for them is nothing less than an absolute joy.
This is particularly the case for our students, Senior Leaders and colleagues at Croxley Danes School. Having attended three different school sites and endured a pandemic since starting at the school which opened in 2017, Croxley Danes’s inaugural cohort of students received the school’s very first set of results yesterday and they were excellent. Over 20% of the student cohort averaged a Grade 7 or above across all their GCSEs and early calculations indicate that a significant majority have made progress beyond expectations based on their primary school data.
Across our schools, and for their achievement and truly exceptional progress, the following students should be recognised. At Chancellor’s School, Antigone M, Serena G, Erin M and James S, and at ESA, Jay L. Between them, these five students achieved 5 x 9s, 15 x 8s, 23 x 7s, 9 x 6s and 2 x 5s. At ESA 82% of the student cohort met or exceeded their target grades - a truly remarkable achievement in light of all circumstances - with 90% achieving on or above their targets in the specialisms of Creative Media, Dance, Film Studies, Photography, and Make Up. At Onslow St Audrey’s the following students all achieved at least one grade above target in each of their subjects: Jack C, Ella H, Leo W, Laura d-C, Talita C, Alexander J and Tyler M. Mia T, Emily W and Amir M-B are to be congratulated at Croxley Danes, each of whom out-performed their target grades by far.
Many students across our Trust schools also gained a strong clutch of 9s, the very highest possible grade and a recognition of truly outstanding attainment and performance. Our ‘top performers by attainment’ (placing them all in the top 0.25% of performers nationally) were: at Croxley Danes School, Yousuf S and, at Chancellor’s, Bethan E and Lauren H, each of whom attained ten Grade 9s, as did Freddy N at St Clement Danes School, who also attained an extra Grade 8 for good measure. Liam E, Sophie M and Anya M at St Clement Danes each attained nine Grade 9s and a Grade 8 and Olivia Matharu nine Grade 9s. A further seven students across our schools attained a minimum of eight Grade 9s while ten students at Onslow St Audrey’s secured average points scores of up to 8.5. Twins Harriet and Jack W at Croxley Danes attained eleven Grade 9s in total across their nineteen subjects.
Finally, special commendations from their Headteacher for resilience and achievement in the face of particular challenges go to Iris B and Katie W, both from St Clement Danes School.
We are so proud of all our students who have stayed wholly committed, not only to their studies but to their place as kind, hopeful, confident citizens in futures to come. We are also deeply grateful to our Senior Leaders, colleagues and the wider families who support our students for their sustained and unrelenting belief that the mountain they and their students have climbed could be conquered. Surely all that is left to say is…Well done Class of ‘22. You are truly exceptional.
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Posted on: 21/06/2023
