High schools in Southall are celebrating a massive increase in the number of students achieving five or more good grades at GCSE, including English and mathematics.

Figures show that 60 per cent of the Ealing borough’s students secured A*-C grades, a rise of nearly 5 per cent on last year’s results and the best ever recorded for Ealing schools.

All Southall schools have posted double-digit increases, including Featherstone High school which achieved a 28 per cent rise on last year’s results, Greenford High School which achieved a 18 per cent rise and Villiers and Dormers Wells high schools which both improved by 11 per cent.

The figures for Featherstone High school are not so clear. The website states that the pass rate has moved from 57% in 2007 to 80% in 2010, outstripping the national standards by around 12%.

Yet Ealing Council figures suggest that the pass rate has moved down from 52% in 2009 to 43% in 2010, a decline of 9%, which is 12% below the Ealing average.

A move from 52% in 2009 to 80% in 2010 is quite an achievement.
A drop from 52% in 2009 to 43% in 2010 is quite depressing.

School	5A*-C inc EM 2010	5A*-C inc EM 2009	% difference
Dormers Wells High School	53%	42%	11%
Featherstone High School	80%	52%	28%
Greenford High School	70%	52%	18%
Villiers High School	62%	51%	11%
Ealing Average	60.0%	55.4%	5%