King Edward’s School Bath, has been recognised as the top performing co-educational independent school in the South West for the second year running in the new Sunday Times Parent Power Guide.
The 31st edition of The Sunday Times Parent Power Guide ranks schools by the first true set of post-Covid examination results in England, with the newspaper noting that, ‘many of the schools that triumphed this year were also those that managed to keep high-quality teaching going online during the pandemic.’
As well as garnering the accolade for the highest performing co-educational school for its combined A Level and GCSE results, KES is also ranked joint second amongst all independent schools in the region, and the joint third best performing school of any kind across the state and independent sectors in the South West.
Ranked 57th nationally in the independent sector, King Edward’s is comfortably within the top 75 schools of any kind nationwide.
Last summer’s A Level results saw 66% of grades awarded A* / A and 87% of grades A*-B. GCSE results were equally excellent, with 84% grades at 9-7 and almost 40% at the top 9 grade.
The Sunday Times also notes that the most successful schools also strike the right balance between academic performance and establishing an environment where pupils can flourish outside the classroom as well as inside.
Helen Davies, Editor of Parent Power, said, “The educational landscape continues to be challenging across both the state and independent sectors, and this is the first true assessment of post-pandemic exam results. We believe these rankings – and all the additional information on offer in Parent Power – provide parents with a more reliable guide to academic achievement in schools today.
“The guide showcases academic excellence but also celebrates schools who may not be right at the top but are rising, innovating and helping pupils flourish. Being a teenager is hard enough, and the past few years since Covid have made life even harder. It is heartening to highlight the achievements of so many students and schools across the UK.”
Commenting on this year’s Parent Power Guide, Martin Boden, Headmaster at KES, said, “We are delighted to have maintained – indeed, to have improved – our very strong standing in this year’s Sunday Times Parent Power Guide. We are equally proud that the guide recognises and celebrates the school’s strong and successful pastoral focus and outstanding engagement in an ever widening range of extra-curricular and co-curricular activities and initiatives, including trips, partnerships and charitable endeavours.
“We were delighted to start 2023 with a glowing inspection report that praised the quality of the all-round education on offer at KES and are equally pleased to be ending another very successful year on such a high note.”
You can view the Parent Power Guide in full here (behind the paywall) School league tables 2024: the best UK secondary schools revealed (thetimes.co.uk)
To view the school’s profile within the Guide, click here (behind the paywall) King Edwards School Bath | UK league table | The Times and The Sunday Times