Exam results dipped more in Brighton and Hove than in most of the rest of the country, according to a report published today (Friday 10 October).
Brighton and Hove City Council said that provisional data suggested that there had been a drop locally of eight percentage points in the headline figure of five GCSEs graded A to C including English and maths.
The council said: “Although there is no national data, informal contact with other local authorities has shown that the significant majority are reporting falls in the headline figure for 2014 with wide variation, although the average seems to be an approximate 3 per cent fall.
“The apparent fall of 8 per cent in Brighton and Hove fits into the pattern being seen in other local authorities although at this point we acknowledge that we believe the Brighton and Hove fall will be greater than the national average.”
The data is included in a report to the council’s Children and Young People Committee which meets in public at Hove Town Hall on Monday (13 October) at 4pm.
The report – about school standards – said that changes to the rules had affected the way GCSE results were counted. For example, retakes are no longer included.
The report also said: “The percentage of schools judged to be good or outstanding in the city has fallen from 80 per cent in summer 2013 to 77.8 per cent in summer 2014.
“The percentage of pupils attending a school judged to be good or outstanding at the end of the academic year 2013-14 was 79.4 per cent.
“Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector’s report is due out later this year which ranks all local authorities in this measure.”