School league tables for UK schools are compiled every year by government.

How a school performs impacts on how popular it is, and in turn on how well it does in subsequent years. Secondary or high schools are measured by their GCSE results, although sometimes schools use different figures on their publicity, so it pays to check which ones they are talking about.

Two statistics are commonly used: 5 or more GCSEs at levels A – G, and 5 or more GCSEs at levels A – C. Levels A – C are the kind of grades that correspond to the old ‘O’ levels, and grades D – G to the old CSEs. [Read more...]