Every Kingswood pupil entered early for GCSE exams

EVERY GCSE pupil at a Hull school has been entered early for their maths and English exams to help improve results.

As a result, 20 per cent of year 11 pupils at Kingswood College of Arts, in Wawne Road, Bransholme, have passed both exams.

They would not normally be sitting the tests until May.

The school decided to take the unusual step of entering every pupil so teachers could pinpoint exactly what each student needs to do to improve grades.

Every six weeks staff meet with deputy headteacher Loz Wilson to talk about progress with each pupil having a personal goal.

Early entry is common in many schools, however, for a school to put every pupil in for the exam is rare.

Mr Wilson said: "Every six weeks we have a learning cycle and so every six weeks I know where every pupil is.

"It is set up automatically so each pupil has a green, amber or red by them so we can see who has not made progress."

Last year 24 per cent of pupils at the school gained the Government benchmark of five A*-C grades at GCSE, including English and maths, compared to 10 per cent on the previous year.

According to Mr Wilson, the rigorous tracking of pupils will mean the school is set to hit its target of 31 per cent this summer.

Already 31 per cent of pupils have passed English, 27 per cent have passed maths and 20 per cent of the 173-pupil year group have passed both, with grades A* to C.

It means they will not need to sit their actual exams in May, unless they want a higher grade.