Press Release
Statement re the Education and Training Inspectorate’s Recent Report on Coleraine Grammar School
Coleraine Grammar School has just received its first Education and Training Inspectorate Report since the formation of the new school following the coming
together of Coleraine Academical Institution and Coleraine High School in September 2015.
Speaking about the report, David Carruthers, Headmaster said;
“This is the first report from the Education and Training Inspectorate since we brought the two schools together in September 2015 and we are pleased that
it recognises the challenges we faced in bringing together the staff, culture and systems of the two founding schools and the added difficulties of
doing so across two sites.
We also note that while the report highlights areas for improvement, the Education and Training Inspectorate recognises that the Senior Leadership Team
at the school has prioritised appropriately and given due attention to creating a shared vision for the new school community. It also praises the significant
and effective work which has been undertaken to establish a solid foundation for the new school, on which to build stronger leadership and management.
It also acknowledges that the areas for development highlighted in the report had already been identified as key priorities in the current School Development
Plan.
Key areas for improvement include certain aspects of learning and teaching, leadership and management and examination outcomes for pupils, all of which
we have already prioritised and begun to address through clear action plans.
In terms of examination results, the inspectors clearly recognised that for the year group who took GCSE examinations in 2016, ‘the academic ability of
this cohort of pupils varied widely.’While we remain focused on improving exam results across the board we believe that it is also useful to consider the implications of this wide range of academic ability within the school.Taking an AQE score of 94 as indicative of grammar school standard in the most recent transfer procedure, the GCSE 7A*-C figures, including English and Maths are as follows:
| 7A*-C GCSE achievement (incl English & Maths) | ||
| CGS pupils with AQE ≥ 94 | 94.0% achieved 7 A*-C grades | |
| NI Grammar Average | 92.8% achieved 7 A*-C grades | |
| CGS pupils with AQE ≤ 93 | 63.4% achieved 7 A*-C grades | |
| NI Non-Grammar Average | 41.7% achieved 7 A*-C grades | |
Using this comparison, it shows Coleraine Grammar School exceeding the NI Grammar School average in the first category and far exceeding the NI Non-Grammar
School average in the second category. We believe this is an important consideration in fully understanding the figures outlined in the ETI report.
We note that the report also states that within our first year ‘the school can demonstrate that it had added value to the standards the pupils had achieved
on entry to the school.’ This is further proof that Coleraine Grammar School is achieving good outcomes for our pupils and remains focused on raising
standards across the board in the years ahead.
We were also pleased that despite the major upheaval associated with the joining of the two schools, the parental survey indicated good levels of satisfaction
with the school. Pupils are happy and enjoying their learning as well as the extensive extra-curricular activities provided by the school. The Board
of Governors and I would like to thank the pupils, parents, teachers, support staff and the community for their support as we continue to build on
the early foundations of Coleraine Grammar School and deliver a sustainable and excellent grammar school for the benefit of post-primary pupils in
Coleraine.”
Please click on the link below if you wish to view the full report:
post-primary-inspection-coleraine-grammar-school-county-londonderry-342-0317 (1).pdf