Drapers Academy – Politics in Havering

[Nationally] 25.2% of disadvantaged pupils and 52.4% of all other pupils got a grade 5 or above [in GCSE English and Maths]¹

Drapers’ Academy should be experts in educating disadvantaged students. In 2024 they entered 89 disadvantaged students for GCSE. They have a critical mass enabling the school to pivot teaching to their needs. Achieving Gold Standard GCSEs, which are Grade 5+ for English and Maths, for the disadvantaged demands robust strategies. Poverty doesn’t cause the under-achievement of disadvantaged children but there’s a correlation.²

Drapers’, in 2024, beat the national average. Their disadvantaged students achieved 28.1% Gold Standard.

Drapers’ Academy is managed by Queen Mary University, London. A university management trust should utilise their research expertise with GCSE results. They’re a diagnostic tool for research. Once data is analysed they can recommend the best strategies for improving outcomes.

St Edward’s Academy, Romford³actively research the achievement of the disadvantaged. (see Addendum two) In 2024 they achieved significantly superior⁴ results to Drapers’. If replicated at Drapers’, seven extra Gold Standard successes would have occurred.

The government’s 2024 Pupil Premium payment for Year 11 at Drapers’ was a minimum of £93,450.⁵ Did that £93K raise standards? Drapers’ are committed to Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Model of Child Development.⁶ GCSE results in 2024 didn’t endorse its insights.

Drapers’ had 89 students facing significant challenges in 2024. They have huge amounts of Pupil Premium funding, an academic management team and a desire to succeed. If St Edward’s can do it why not Drapers’?

Addendum One: Drapers’ Academy, Chair of Governors

Oliver Everett is a Liveryman of the Drapers’ Company. He is a farmer and a consultant specialising in the link between the private sector and government, working extensively in Africa. Outside work, he is an Entrepreneur Mentor in Residence at London Business School.

Addendum Two: St Edward’s and their access to research

Having Unity Research School as part of Unity Schools Partnership means that Unity’s schools have instant access to evidence-based information which they can use in the classroom to improve outcomes for pupils, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. In an age of over-whelming amounts of pseudo-evidence, Unity Research School provides a solid and trustworthy source of information, proven to work in school settings and can help each school apply the evidence so that it is relevant to their setting and pupils’ needs.⁷

Notes

1 Attainment at age 16 – Social Mobility Commission State of the Nation – GOV.UK

2 https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/correlation

3 Results by pupil characteristics – St Edward’s Church of England Academy – Compare school and college performance data in England – GOV.UK They aren’t a privileged school. 36% of their students in 2024 were disadvantaged. Coopers Coburn had 5% disadvantaged students who achieved three Gold Standard passes.

4 Seven doesn’t look much but it is 28.5 percentage points greater.

5 The 89 students would have generated several hundred thousand pounds of Pupil Premium funding over their five years at the school

6 Pupil Premium – Drapers’ Academy

7 Unity Research School | Unity Schools Partnership

Havering’s academies are unaccountable. Their principal role is educating Havering’s children but how good are they? Looking at their websites (see Addendum) it’s more or less impossible to find out. With notable exceptions, GCSE results are concealed. Drapers Academy demonstrates it’s a choice to prevent understanding.

Drapers Academy: a stellar example of good practice

Compare this with Harris Academy, Rainham1. They present their results as though they are conducting a seminar for education professionals.

And Harris Academy isn’t the worst. Marshalls Park’s results date from 2019. And it isn’t the worst either. Other schools don’t publish results at all. They only give a link to the government website: step forward Hornchurch High School!

The Council have no role in Havering’s Academies, which is disastrous. Academies are run as if GCSE results are a commercial secret. Havering’s academies are adept at cherry picking the information they publish on their websites. Parents literally don’t know whether their children’s schools are successful or not.

Dissatisfied parent should use Freedom of Information2 requests to reveal uncensored GCSE results. Drapers Academy have shown it can be done and other academies should follow them.

GCSE results information is not a commercial secret.

Addendum: Links to each academy’s website exam results page

1 Achievement And Performance – Abbs Cross Academy

2 Key Information – Bower Park Academy Nothing on exam results

3 The Brittons Academy

4 Learning (thecampionschool.org.uk)

5 GCSE Results 2022 – The Coopers’ Company and Coborn School (cooperscoborn.org.uk)

6 Headline-Results-2022.pdf (drapers-academy.s3.amazonaws.com)

7 Emerson Park Academy – Find school and college performance data in England – GOV.UK (find-school-performance-data.service.gov.uk)

8 Secondary – The Frances Bardsley Academy for Girls – Find school and college performance data in England – GOV.UK (find-school-performance-data.service.gov.uk)

9 Gaynes school best ever GCSE results – News – Gaynes School

10 Examinations – Hall Mead School results for 2020 see also Subjects entered at key stage 4 in 2021/22 – Hall Mead School – Find school and college performance data in England – GOV.UK (find-school-performance-data.service.gov.uk) Appears to be slightly above average