Salford- one of the most improved local authorities in the north-west

Most improved
Buile Hill Visual Arts College, which is part of the
Greater Manchester Challenge Keys to Success
programme, is one of this year’s most improved Salford
high schools with 81 per cent of pupils achieving at least
five good GCSE grades, a rise of 28 per cent overall.
Other schools that are part of this programme are
celebrating attainment rises, including Harrop Fold
High School, Albion High School and Wentworth High
School. Salford City Council’s school improvement
officers and national strategy consultants have worked
with these schools for many years so it is really positive
to see all the hard work starting to pay off.
Salford - one of the most improved
What’s the secret behind Salford’s success?
Schools in Salford have achieved record GCSE results which are above the
national average for the first time.
Salford City Council’s Schools and Learning
Development Team has also run network meetings for
subject leaders and strategy managers. The sessions
have been tailored to the needs of each individual
school and provided a useful place to share best
practice.
Since 2004, Salford City Council’s School Improvement
Team have been working relentlessly with school head
teachers and senior leaders. The team has developed
and led conferences focused on transforming learning
and the leadership of learning. Virtually every school
has also received leadership development.
local authorities in the north-west
This means 2009 has been Salford’s best ever year for
GCSE results with 73 per cent of pupils achieving five
or more A* to C grades. Almost half of Salford pupils
achieved five or more A* to C grades including Maths
and English compared to 40 per cent in 2008.
Compare these record results to only five years ago and
the improvement is astonishing; in 2004, just 38 per
cent of pupils obtained five or more A* to C grades.
Top of the class
Pupils from four schools in particular have performed
especially well, achieving excellent results that are a
really positive indicator of further improvements and a
bright future.
At St Patrick’s RC High School every pupil passed five
or more GCSEs with A* to C grades, the second year
running that the school has achieved this 100 per cent
pass rate.
The Swinton High School, St Ambrose Barlow RC High
School and Beis Yaakov Jewish High School all have at
least 92 per cent of their students gaining five or more
GCSEs with A* to C grades.
Eleven Salford schools had more than 70 per cent of
pupils achieving at least five GCSEs graded A* to C. They
are Irlam and Cadishead Community High (74 per cent),
Moorside High (72 per cent), St George’s RC High (70
per cent) and Walkden High (84 per cent). In each case
students have also met highly aspirational individual
targets for attainment at five or more GCSEs including
Maths and English.
Looked after children have also achieved the best
results for five or more A* to C grades in the last five
years and best ever including Maths and English.
The rise in standards can also be attributed to working
with subject leaders and teachers in classrooms to
support the development of personalisation of the
curriculum; rigorous tracking; raising expectations
for the quality of learning and teaching and aspiring to
realise every student’s potential.
‘Outstanding’ schools
St Patrick’s RC High School, St Ambrose Barlow RC
High School and All Hallows RC High School have been
judged to be outstanding schools by OFSTED. These
three schools together with The Swinton High School
are High Performing Specialist Schools.
Oakwood High School is one of the city’s three special
high schools and has also been judged “Outstanding”
by OFSTED and has High Performing Specialist School
status, whilst the other two, Chatsworth and New Park
are good and improving schools. Leaders at all levels
in the special schools ensure that the curriculum and
quality of care, guidance and support enable young
people to make better than expected levels of progress.
Despite the success of Salford’s GCSE results, higher
levels of achievement must be reached. Salford City
Council is currently engaging with high schools as part
of Building Schools for the Future and will be working
closely with both Salford City College and Salford
University. This will bring a wealth of opportunity to
Salford’s young people and further enhance Salford’s
reputation as a focal point for educational aspiration
and excellence for all.