Islington Tribune - News: ‘Added value’ school praised

Publications by New Journal Enterprises

Home

Archive

Competition

Islington Tribune - by TOM FOOT
Published: 7 March 2008

‘Added value’ school praised

AN Islington school has been hailed for the improving results shown by pupils.
Islington Green School, which will close in the summer and become an academy, emerged as one of the capital’s highest- scoring schools for value-added results. Value-added grades, which compare pupils’ actual results to ones predicted at primary level, are used by government advisers as “a crucial indicator of success”.
Former Ofsted inspector Terry Wrigley, now a leading academic at the Institute of Education, said the Islington Green results meant it was outstripping academies across the country. He added: “I can only find eight, out of 36 academies, showing this level of improvement.” Many of these had a different catchment population from Islington Green. “Once these changes of population are accounted for, only two academies have gained as much as Islington Green,” he said.
Ken Muller, of Islington National Union of Teachers, said: “Islington Green School is doing better than many more ‘prestigious’ schools, including the London Oratory, which the Blairs sent their children to instead of Islington Green.”
He added: “Instead of blackmailing Islington Council into closing Islington Green School and handing it over as an academy to unelected and unaccountable sponsors, Lord Adonis and Gordon Brown should name it a beacon school.”
Anti-academies campaigners will meet at the TUC building in Great Russell Street tomorrow (Saturday).
Journalists Francis Beckett and Fiona Millar will be joined by Labour MPs Jon Cruddas and Frank Dobson, and Tony Benn at the day-long event.

Comment on this article.
(You must supply your full name and email address for your comment to be published)

Name:

Email:

Comment: