Curriculum Impact

The Preston School curriculum is broad and balanced. There is a wide range of subjects on offer, which allows all students to follow their passions. We work hard to ensure that the curriculum is ambitious, but at the same time accessible to all. This hard work ensures that:

• Students have a detailed knowledge across a wide range of subject areas – We do not simply teach to an exam
• Students have developed the learning skills to allow them to succeed – They leave us ready for post 16 education and beyond
• The qualifications studied enable students to move into the next stage of their education or training – We do not offer ‘gimmick’ qualifications to impact league tables
• Students have a love of reading and read a wide range of genres – Literacy is built into everything that we do
• Students have a good knowledge of the careers and further study opportunities available to them – Careers is integral to our curriculum

We continually measure the impact of our curriculum through:

Post-16 Destinations Data

We are proud that in September 2021, our well-designed curriculum ensured that 99.5% of students progressed into suitable further education or training. This meant that in two years, only one student attending Preston School was recorded as not in further education or training.

The breakdown of destinations for September 2021 is as follows:

• Further Education (College) – 148
• Further Education (Sixth Form) – 30
• Apprenticeships – 10
• Traineeships – 2
• Employment with Training – 1
• Not in Education or further training – 1 
  
  

We are exceptionally proud that in September 2020, our well-designed curriculum ensured that 100% of students progressed into suitable further education or training.

The breakdown of destinations for September 2020 is as follows:

• Further Education (College) - 169
• Further Education (Sixth Form) - 15
• Apprenticeships - 7
• Traineeships - 2
• Employment with Training – 1
• Not in Education or further training – 0

Examination Outcomes - September 2023

The below figures are still to liable to significant change.

The Attainment 8 score for a school measures how well students do in their eight best GCSE results, with the English and Maths scores doubled. We are pleased that our Attainment 8 score for September 2023 was 46.43.

We are also pleased that our strong curriculum offer means that 46.4% of students achieve a Grade 5 or above in English and Maths.

The Progress 8 score for a school measures student progress in their GCSEs against their progress at Primary School. The Progress 8 score for September 2023 was -0.22.

The average grade achieved in the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) by students at Preston was 4.53 in September 2023.

Examination Outcomes - September 2022

The Attainment 8 score for a school measures how well students do in their eight best GCSE results, with the English and Maths scores doubled. We are exceptionally proud that the Attainment 8 score for September 2022 was 51.9. This was significantly above both the average score for Somerset (45.5) and the Country as a whole (48.7).

We are also pleased that our strong curriculum offer means that 58% of students achieve a Grade 5 or above in English and Maths, compared to a Somerset average of 45% and a national average of 50%.

The Progress 8 score for a school measures student progress in their GCSEs against their progress at Primary School. The Progress 8 score for Preston School improved significantly in September 2022, by 0.57, to exactly match the national average score of -0.03. This level of improvement is exceptionally rare and something we are very proud of. We envisage continuing this improvement in the coming years.

Key Personal Attributes 

The Preston Enterprise Skills provide every Preston School graduate with the real world, soft skills required by employers in the modern workplace. These skills are built into the curriculum and students are expected to demonstrate these skills as they develop. They are rewarded by staff when these skills are identified in their learning.

In the academic year from September 2021 – September 2022, the Preston Enterprise Skills were demonstrated by students and identified by staff on the following number of occasions:

• Generosity: Rewarded on 2,413 occasions
• Resilience: Rewarded on 13,580 occasions
• Enquiry: Rewarded on 9,452 occasions
• Ambition: Rewarded on 26,123 occasions
• Teamwork: Rewarded on 16,160 occasions