More than 20,000 pupils left their school’s sixth forms before completing their A-level courses, new analysis shows, after revelations that some schools have systematically pushed pupils out for failing to achieve top marks.
About 13% of the 160,000 pupils taking at least three AS-levels at state schools nationally did not go on to complete year 13, equivalent to 20,800 pupils, according to analysis by Education Datalab.
Breaking the figure down, 8% of selective school pupils and 14% of those in other types of schools, equivalent to 1,920 and 18,894 pupils respectively, did not go on to complete year 13.
The analysis comes after St Olave’s grammar school in Orpington, south-east London, backed down on Friday and dropped its stringent academic requirements, under which pupils who had not achieved top marks were abruptly told to leave midway though their A-level courses.
Dave Thomson, the chief statistician at the non-profit company FFT Education, which runs Education Datalab, said: “How many of the 13% that left did so voluntarily? How many were persuaded to leave? How many were told to leave? Unfortunately, we do not know from this data. But there do appear to be a number of schools with rather low retention rates among lower-attaining pupils, who may well be concerned at the response to the St Olave’s coverage.”
Thomson looked at a subset of pupils who made it to the end of year 12 and were entered for at least three AS-levels in summer 2015, the last year before the phased introduction of reformed AS-levels.
The affair has lifted a lid on a possibly illegal practice designed to boost a school’s league table position. A number of high-achieving schools across England appear to have carried it out, despite their being unable to exclude pupils for reasons other than behaviour. Friday’s development at St Olave’s will put pressure on other schools that follow the same practice to reconsider their policies.
A number of parents and pupils among those affected at St Olave’s said they remained unhappy that the school had imposed the policy under its headteacher, Aydin Önaç, and that they were unlikely to return when the new term starts on Monday, despite the climbdown.
Önaç and the school’s governing body have declined to respond or comment publicly since the Guardian’s revelations were first published, leaving the diocese of Chichester to issue a statement on the school’s behalf on Friday evening.
“Following a review of the school’s policy on entry to year 13, the headmaster and governors of St Olave’s grammar school have taken the decision to remove this requirement and we have today written to all parents of pupils affected to explain this and offer them the opportunity to return to the school and continue their studies,” it said.
“Our aim as a school has been and continues to be to nurture boys who flourish and achieve their full potential academically and in life generally. Our students can grow and flourish, making the very best of their talents to achieve success.”
Dozens of parents and pupils have contacted the Guardian with similar stories from different areas of the country.