WEST Somerset College has shown a ‘meteoric’ rise in performance as the latest league tables are published.
Schools across Taunton Deane and West Somerset have been ranked in the latest leagues tables by the Department for Education.
The latest figures show that a rising numbers of maintained or academy secondary schools are under-performing in England.
New data shows one in eight of England’s mainstream secondaries – 365 in total – fell below the Government’s minimum standards in 2017
West Somerset College came up top and third overall in Somerset, scoring a Progress 8 rating of 0.32. The improvement was described as a ‘meteoric rise’ by the trust that runs it.
West Somerset College.
Peter Elliott, chief executive of Bridgwater College Trust, said: “When you consider three years ago the college was in special measures, this has been a meteoric rise and we hope it continues. The trust was brought in to support and run the school and these results are a testament to the work of the teachers and staff there.”
Headteacher at West Somerset College, Zoe Stucki, said the college planned to continue delivering superb results for its students.
“In September 2017 we achieved some magnificent GCSE examinations. The finalised DFE league tables confirmed that our GCSE results placed us third out of 77 secondary schools in Somerset and in the top 18 per cent of schools in the country for progress,” she said.
“West Somerset College has been able to realise these incredible achievements as a result of the high expectations fostered by our dedicated and determined staff, our brilliant students who work hard and are serious about their ambitions and, of course, our wonderful parents and carers who actively support us.”
Ms Stucki explained that West Somerset’s Opportunity Area funding would allow the College to re-open the vocational centre which had been closed with funding cuts.
She said: “West Somerset College will continue to deliver superb results for our students. Our focus on academic achievement coupled with the support of the Opportunity Area Funding to extend our vocational provision from September 2018 means we now have a broad and compelling curriculum offer at Key Stage 5.
"From September 2018, through the reopening of our state of the art skills centre, we aim to deliver additional Post-16 vocational courses in construction professions, hairdressing, catering and hospitality.”
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