Stratford's KES awarded top spot as region's best school
THE King Edward VI success story continued as the Stratford school was named West Midlands State Secondary School of the Year in The Sunday Times Parent Power guide.
The award recognises that, in the first year of public examinations following the Covid pandemic, KES has once again topped the school rankings in the region based on A level and GCSE results.
The rankings, printed on Sunday, revealed that 92.2 per cent of KES A-level results were graded A*-B while 91.2 per cent of GCSE grades were 7-9 (A*/A).
These results lifted the school into the UK’s top ten for the first time.
The guide also gave Stratford the top two in the West Midlands region as Stratford Girls’ Grammar School was ranked in second place with 90.4 per cent A*-B at A level and 94.4 per cent 7-9 (A*/A) at GCSE. It gave the Shottery school a national ranking of 14th.
Alcester Grammar School was ranked 12th in the West Midlands region.
KES headmaster Bennet Carr, pictured, said: “Such recognition is obviously most welcome, but it is the daily experience of our students which really matters.
“Their outstanding results are testament to both their talent and dedication and to the quality of education maintained by their teachers during the pandemic.
“Successful schooling is not just about passing exams, however.
“They have also thrown themselves into a vast array extra-curricular, enrichment and community activities and have enjoyed the benefits of incredibly supportive parents who share our vision for education.”
Mr Carr told the Herald there was a virtuous circle that permeates the school which means students are self-motivated and want to do well, supported by the staff but also by “really supportive parents”.
“Students have a genuine thirst for their extra-curricular activities,” Mr Carr said. “They are committed to their clubs and societies.
“We have had successful international trips this year with a rugby tour of Canada, a hockey tour of Holland plus field trips and language trips. The award is a silver lining for us but fundamentally it’s about the students.”
The award is the school’s latest success in The Sunday Times’s analysis of the country’s schools and their results.
KES won the same school of the year award in 2019 and was named school of the decade in 2021.
The school was also rated outstanding at the start of the year by Ofsted.
Parent Power, in its 30th edition, is widely acknowledged as the most authoritative annual survey of the country’s best schools.
Top spot for state schools went to the Henrietta Barnett School in Barnet, London, followed by Queen Elizabeth’s School, also Barnet, and Wilson’s School, Wallington.
The rankings in the secondary school league tables are determined by the percentage of examination entries gaining A* to B grades at A level this summer (which is given double weighting) and the percentage of entries returning A* and A grades, and those graded 9, 8 and 7, at GCSE.
