We congratulate the students of 2021 for a very good set of GCSE results, which reflect the cohort’s strong work ethic and determination to succeed in spite of difficulties and set-backs.  We are delighted that all of them achieved the grades they need to enrol at one of their sixth form college or school choices to do A level, BTEC or other courses.   

Teacher assessed grade process

This was, of course, a most unusual year and not comparable even with the previous year of centre assessed grades.  This year, GCSE grades were awarded based on a holistic teacher assessment of the students’ actual performance, rather than teacher predictions and exam board algorithms.  Students, teachers and the Exams Officer worked hard to get the evidence together and the exam boards then asked for a specified sample of assessments for quality assurance purposes.  All the grades in the sample we provided were accepted as valid by the exam boards and we are confident that our grades reflect the students’ evidenced achievements. 

Our performance analysis

Comparative performance analysis is less straightforward this year as the 2021 teacher assessed grades have been determined by different criteria from the 2020 centre assessed grades, and are based on assessments undertaken throughout the course, rather than terminal exams as in 2018 and 2019.  It is not therefore meaningful to give overall cohort figures for some measures.  

This performance analysis is based on the students who were entered for GCSE exams - 13 students.  One pupil in the cohort followed a customised programme of study: we are very pleased with the progress he made with us, enabling him to gain a coveted place at the college of his choice.  

Progress against school targets

We measure progress by using the CAT tests taken in Y8 to provide an initial baseline indicator of cognitive abilities and predicted GCSE grades.  These predictors may sometimes be calibrated using other relevant data to give a school Minimum Expected Grade (MEG).  

Our internal analysis of this cohort’s progress against school targets shows that overall progress was very high, with average performance slightly higher than the previous year’s cohort.  The majority of the students worked phenomenally hard both during lockdown and subsequently to catch up.  Some battled through significant difficulties, making their achievements all the more note-worthy.  

Analysing our results against the students’ original CAT scores, this cohort also made very good progress - again, slightly higher than the previous year. One pattern that has emerged is that students who come from us from other schools, and sometimes from completely different educational systems, quickly exceed their CAT predicted grades and have been among our highest achievers this year.  We are delighted with the strong progress they have made since joining our school.

The table shows subjects offered as part of the schools’ provision both in core and flexi-ed contexts.

Students performing at or above their target grade (MEG)

* = cohorts of 1 or 2 students

In individual subject areas, levels of performance have been maintained or improved in Religious Studies, English Language, English Literature, History, PE and Art.  In Maths there has been a small drop since last year but the results are comparable with the pre-COVID years.  In double award Science and French, students were more impacted this year by the extended  disruption to face-to-face teaching.  

Two key points to note are the continued improvement in the PE (Short Course) and significant improvement in History levels of achievement.  Other variations are not statistically significant due to the size of cohorts and the impact that just one under- or over-achieving student can have.   

Attainment 8 score

Our Attainment 8 score (based on the best eight GCSE grades) remained relatively stable at 67 compared with 68 last year.  Our Attainment 8 score in the last year of published performance figures was 69.8 - a score that saw us ranked highest in Liverpool’s non-selective schools (8.6 points above the next school).  

77% of our students achieved strong passes (5 or above) in English and Maths compared with 82% in 2020, 100% in 2019 and 83% in 2018.  This lower performance reflects the ability spread within the cohort; nevertheless all students on the Foundation Maths course were well prepared for their assessments and achieved at or above their target grades.  

EBacc

This year fewer students were entered for the EBacc suite of subjects (two sciences, a modern foreign language and a humanities subject, in addition to English and Maths) - 62% compared with 76% in 2020, 88% in 2019 and 83% in 2018.  The main reason for the lower numbers was the relatively high proportion of this cohort who did not take a Modern Foreign Language.  This decision was mainly made to reduce the number of subjects for students who (for varying reasons) needed more time to focus on the key GCSEs required for progression, including the chance to pursue interests in the creative arts.  Even so, our average EBacc point score was 6.7, compared with 7.1 in 2020, 6.8 in 2019 and 5.9 In 2018.  (For comparative purposes, in 2019 CFS’s average point score of 6.8 was the highest average point score in non-selective schools in Liverpool).

All core subjects (% with passes at Grade Grade 4/5 or higher)

In analysing our performance in the core subjects, we note that each year’s cohort is numerically small compared to most other schools, meaning that one pupil can make a significant difference of up to eight percentage points.  Also cohorts can change significantly from year to year in terms of whether they are biased towards academic subjects or towards creative and practical subjects.  This makes year on year comparisons less valid than in schools where student numbers are higher and cohort profiles less variable.  The figures marked with an asterisk are based on the percentage of students who studied the subject.  

The two flexi-ed subjects taken by this cohort were Art and Full Course PE.  Although not evident in the figures above,  results in each subject were our best ever due to some very able artists and athletes in the cohort.

Y10 Religious Studies GCSE

As last year, we made the decision to enter the Year 10 students for teacher assessed grades in GCSE Religious Studies rather than require the students to sit the RS exam in November or to sit the GCSE in June 2022. This was to enable us to deliver the full Christian Life Studies programme (which is a core element of our distinctive offering in Y11) without taking curriculum time to revise for Religious Studies. Our teacher assessed grades for Y10 GCSE RS show  that of those that were due to sit the exam (12 students), 67% achieved at grade 8 or 9, which was comparable with last year. All achieved at Grade 5 or above, with a slightly higher proportion achieving Grade 6 or above than in previous years.

Finally ...  

We are thankful to God for the excellent work ethic that prevailed in this cohort. We are enormously proud of the way the students handled themselves in the most trying of circumstances of this year, maintaining their focus to prepare for the next stage. We wish them the very best in the new challenges and opportunities of their new settings. We gratefully acknowledge the crucial role played by the love and prayers of the parents and the rest of the school community, in supporting the students throughout their time in CFS.