Independent Schools still delivering at A-level

Pupils educated in the Independent sector are three times more likely to get at least three A grades at A-level than pupils from maintained sector schools.

Figures published this week by the Department for Education show that only eight per cent of pupils in comprehensive schools gained three As, compared with 27 per cent in selective state grammar schools and 31.4 per cent in the independent sector.

What this means is that last year the numbers of A-level candidates getting 3 A grades were as follows:

• 11,185 in Independent Schools [41.2%]
• 10,050 in Comprehensive Schools [37.0%]
  
• 5,939 in Selective/Grammar Schools [21.8%]
  

Sadly the Statistics do not give a breakdown for the three sectors for the percentages of pupils gaining the A*, but the gap is likely to be even greater when these are taken into consideration. [The top Grammar schools were getting about 20% A* as opposed to over 40% in the selective Independent Sector. The national average was 8%]

Given this perhaps it is not surprising that Independent Schools dominate the places awarded at top universities.

Newspaper Coverage:
'Private schools dominate top A-level grades' Daily Telegraph 21/10/10

State v private: The A-level gulf widens with fee-payers now three times more likely to get straight As Daily Mail 21/10/10

To view the DfE Statistics:
DfE: GCE/Applied GCE A/AS and Equivalent Examination Results in England, 2009/10 (Provisional) Table 1a