Six out of 10 La Mare students failed to gain C in GCSE maths

The final validated maths results of all States-run secondary schools were published by Education, Sport & Culture in response to a set of written questions posed by Deputy Heidi Soulsby.

Deputy Soulsby said she understood that extra support would be given to La Mare following the publication of the results.

Just 40.4% of La Mare students achieved a Level 4 or higher, and just 2% achieved a Level 7 or higher, equating to a grade A pass.

These figures increased to 51.4% and 4.8% respectively at Les Beaucamps High School.

At St Sampson’s High School, 2.3% of students achieved a Level 7 or higher, with 53.1% of students achieving a Level 4 or higher.

No students achieved a Level 7 at St Anne’s School in Alderney, but 50% of students achieved a Level 4 or higher.

At Les Varendes High School, formerly the Grammar School, 45.6% of students achieved a Level 7 or higher, while 100% of students achieved a Level 4 or higher. This was the final Grammar intake who had been selected through the 11-plus.

Deputy Soulsby said she was not surprised by the results, and wished that they had been released sooner.

‘I think it was clear from how the information came out that there was a problem,’ she said. ‘I’m sure ESC are putting in place things that will improve the situation.’

The results were initially due to be published in a report in January, but Deputy Soulsby was glad that they had come out earlier.

‘It’s all about being open and honest with the community.’

She queried why the results could not have been released earlier even if they had been provisional, due to the fact that for the years 2019, 2022 and 2023, only 1.2% of the GCSE maths grades that were awarded across the four States secondary schools in Guernsey and St Anne’s were changed after provisional grades were released in August.

‘The results can always be published on a provisional basis as the number of successful appeals to results are minuscule in proportion to the total number of results,’ she said.

She added that La Mare’s results in particular were of a concern, but said that ESC had made it very clear that it would put expertise in at the school.

‘Hopefully we will get more information on that in January when the full report comes out.’

Wayne Bates, Guernsey’s national negotiating official for teachers union the NASUWT, said that the number of pupils obtaining a certain grade was an extremely crude measure of pupil and school performance.

‘The focus in England has been on the progress that a pupil makes, not the grade they obtain, for a number of years,’ he added.