Assessment and Reporting

Learning Indicator: 

The learning indicator is a measure of your child’s attitude to their learning. There are four possible indicators: ‘Excellent’, ‘Good’, ‘Requires Improvement’ and ‘Poor’.

Teachers award the learning indicator based on your child’s effort in both class work and homework.

To achieve ‘Excellent’, students must exceed expectations. This is given to approximately the top 10% of students in the classroom. Students who are meeting all expectations would receive a “Good” as their learning indicator.

Area of Development (Comment):

Students are given a short comment stating which topic they can focus on to improve their current attainment further. This comment is written by their teacher and linked to one of our online learning platforms so that students can work on these areas independently at home.

At KS3, these comments are provided in our EBacc subjects (English, Maths, Science, History, Geography and MFL). At KS4 and KS5 these comments are written for all examined subjects.  

For Mathematics, this links to Sparx Maths (KS3), Hegarty Maths (KS4) or Integral Maths (KS5). It is also possible to look at these on the United Learning Curriculum website.

For MFL, this links to LanguageNut. It is also possible to look at these on the United Learning Curriculum website.

For other subjects this links to either SENECA or the United Learning Curriculum Website.

For further advice on how to access these online learning platforms, please see this link.

Working At Grades: 

The working at grade, represents the age related grade that your child is currently working at. This is calculated based on assessments that your child has completed in class. In KS3, we use a range of two grades in order to represent the range of grades your child is currently working at. For example, in Maths they may be working at an Age Related Grade of a 4-5.

An age-related grade means that if a student achieve a grade 5-6 in Year 7, this does not mean that they would achieve a grade 5 or 6 at GCSE if they took their GCSE exams today. Rather, it suggests that they are on track to achieve a grade 5 or 6 at the end of year 11 in that subject assuming that they continue working at their current level and effort.

Target Grade:

In years 7-9 a student is given a target grade in a range of grades as their target e.g. 4-5.

The target grade is based on the average score your child achieved in their Key Stage 2 SATS at the end of primary school (or that they achieved on an assessment they completed when they first joined our school if SATs did not take place in that academic year). These scores are from 80-120. An average score would be 100.  

If your child achieved the average score of 100, they would be expected to achieve a grade 5 in each of their GCSEs at the end of Year 11. This would mean that they have made average progress compared with other students nationally. If your child achieved an average score of 110, your child would be expected to achieve a grade 7. This too would mean that they have made average progress compared with students nationally who scored the same as they did.  

To ensure our students have high aspirations for their futures, at KS3 they are given both a minimum target and an aspirational target. E.G. if their target is a 4-5, then they should be aiming to achieve a 4 as a minimum and aspire to achieve a 5. 

In Year 7-9, for EBacc subjects (English, Maths, Science, History, Geography and MFL) students will be given a rank (EG "50") Students in Year 10 will be given a rank for each of their subjects. 

This rank can help you to understand where your child is within the year group. Please note, that the rank does not determine the set that your child is placed in as sets are a combination of test scores and other factors.

Predicted Grade:  

This is the grade that we believe your child is currently most likely to achieve at the end of Year 11 based on their current attainment and effort both in and out of the classroom. This can change over time.  

Working-at Grade (Year 11 only): 

This is the grade that your child is currently working at and is awarded by mock exams and classroom assessments. 

Target Grades 

The target grade is based on the average score your child achieved in their Key Stage 2 SATS at the end of primary school. These scores are from 80-120. An average score would be 100.  

If your child achieved the average score of 100, they would be expected to achieve a grade 5 in each of their GCSEs at the end of Year 11. This would mean that they have made average progress compared with other students nationally. If your child achieved an average score of 110, your child would be expected to achieve a grade 7. This too would mean that they have made average progress compared with students nationally who scored the same as they did.  

To ensure our target grades are aspirational and encourage students to achieve higher than average, all targets are set at one grade higher than average. This is to encourage students to aim for aspirational destinations following their GCSEs.  

An example Year 11 Report:

Target Grade 

The target grade is based on the average score your child achieved in their best 8 GCSE grades including English, Maths and Science. These GCSE scores are from 1-9 and provide predicted A Level grades or BTEC grades.  

If your child achieved an average of less than 5.2 at GCSE then their target at A Level will be a Grade C or BTEC a grade “Distinction”. If your child achieved an average grade between 5.2  and 7 their target will be a B or “Distinction”. If your child achieved an average grade above 7, their target grade will be an A at A Level.  

To ensure our target grades are aspirational and encourage students to achieve higher than average, all targets are set at one grade higher than national average progress. This is to encourage students to aim for aspirational destinations following their Post-16 education at Sixth Form.   

Predicted Grade:  

This is the grade that we believe your child is currently most likely to achieve at the end of Year 13 based on their current attainment and effort both in and out of the classroom. This can change over time.  

Working-at Grade: 

This is the grade that your child is currently working at and is awarded by mock exams and classroom assessments.  

Numerical GCSE grades from 2017 

The new GCSE number grading system runs from 1-9 with 9 being the highest grade. This replaces the old A*-G system. To support your understanding, please find an approximate conversion table for these grades below.