Students perform beyond expectations

WARRINGTON students have performed better than ever in post-16 qualifications, according to figures released by the Department for Education.
The results are “beyond expectations” according to Cllr Colin Froggatt (pictured) the borough council’s executive member for children and young people’s services.
He said: “Once again these results gained by Warrington’s students and learners are beyond expectations, which we believe shows that education providers in the borough are doing an excellent job skilling up our young people for further study or future employment.”
There are three key measures within the DfE figures – and Warrington’s learners preformed strongly in all of them.
In Warrington, the percentage of young people who achieved a Level 2 qualification by the age of 19 (equivalent to 5+ A-C GCSEs) rose to 89 per cent, compared with 85 per cent in 2011.
This compares with 84 per cent in England and the North West last year, meaning that together with neighbouring Trafford, Warrington has the highest result regionally and is the ninth best performing local authority in England.
Warrington also improved its performance in Level 2 qualification including English and Maths, increasing from 63 per cent to 67 per cent – the third highest result in the North West and the 18th highest nationally.
Young people who achieved a Level 3 qualification (equivalent to A Levels) rose to 64 per cent, from 58 per cent in 2011 – second only to Trafford in the North West on this indicator and the 15th out of the 326 local authority areas in England.
Overall the rate of improvement among local students was bigger, faster and higher than the regional and national averages.