Queen Elizabeth’s School is the highest-ranked state school in the country in the Financial Times 2011 Top 1000 schools. It was also the highest-climbing school in the table, up 14 places to eighth place behind seven independent schools. It is the fifth consecutive year in which QE has been a top 25 achieving school.
The influential league table is based on 2010 A-level results. QE had 139 A-level entrants last summer; 32.4% of all A-levels gained the A* grade, whilst 80% of grades were either A* or A – a rise on last year’s figures for A grades of 77.5%. In addition the number of grades from A* to B held steady at an impressive 95.7%.
In addition to 25 boys who were offered places at Oxford or Cambridge this year, one student who achieved three A* and one A grade became the first QE boy to take up a place at Yale University in the United States.
The Financial Times school league tables differ from others in that they focus solely on academic achievement as defined by ‘core’ subject A-level results. Subjects such as drama and media studies are not included in the FT’s analysis. Its ranking combines two measurements: the points per candidate (to measure the quantity of work), and the points per entry (to measure the quality).
"What a splendid accolade for our boys and their teachers! The FT’s is the most demanding measure of all and reaches the heart of the matter: the school’s performance in those difficult, academic subjects that discerning university admissions tutors prefer. It is indeed a remarkable achievement to be the top state school consistently outperforming all but very few independents. It also explains why the overwhelming majority of our boys achieve fiercely contested places at Russell Group universities," said Headmaster Dr John Marincowtz.
To download the Financial Times School Rankings table, follow this link:
http://rankings.ft.com/secondary-schools/secondary-schools-2011