Exam Results

Academic Excellence

We are very proud of the academic achievements of our students. Students at Soar Valley achieve some of the highest results in the city year after year, and progress measures are consistently strong.

Performance information 2019 - 2022

Results in 2022 were outstanding! Schools were told they would be lower than in 2021, when grades were determined by teacher assessments, but in fact results at Soar Valley are just as high as those in 2021, and in some cases even better!

2019 was the last year where ‘normal’ examinations were taken; in 2020 students received Centre Assessed Grades and in 2021 Teacher Assessed Grades. At Soar Valley all grades were subject to a rigorous moderation and checking process, both internally and externally at exam board level.

Key performance measures for schools are the proportion of students who attained a ‘Good Pass’ in English and mathematics (Grade 4 or above) and a ‘Strong Pass’ (Grade 5 and above). As a high achieving school, we also consider the proportion of students gaining a Grade 7 or above. For ‘English’, it is the student’s best grade of English Language and Literature which is included.

As can be seen from the table below, Soar Valley’s results are significantly above national and, even with a return to formal examinations, are at the same level as 2021 Teacher Assessed Grades. They demonstrate excellent levels of progress for our students from their starting points on entry in Year 7. The achievement of our most able students is particularly strong (Grade 7+), and indicates our students perform well above national expectations.

A figure called Progress 8 is also usually reported on. This figure is a calculation based on the achievement across 8 subjects for each student based on whether they met, exceeded or were below their expected performance in each subject. A figure is then calculated for the whole school. -0.5 is considered to be the ‘floor standard’, or the minimum expected standard set by the government, and national averages are just below 0.

This figure was +0.5 for Soar Valley in 2017, +0.3 in 2018, and +0.5 for 2019. Our internal data showed figures for 2020 and 2021 of +0.51 and +0.58 respectively (national figures will not be released for these two academic years).

The 2022 figure is  +0.74.

This means our students make significantly more progress than their peers nationally on average, and indicates very strong performance.

The English Baccalaureate

The EBacc is a measure that continues to be reported on. This year 32% of students entered the EBacc suite of subjects, meaning they studied English, maths, science, and two from geography, history, computer science and French or German. Our policy is to not force any particular option choices on students, but to allow and guide them to follow their strengths and interests. At Soar Valley, students who are capable of doing the EBacc are advised that this is a pathway that they should consider but they are not made to do so if their interests and abilities lie in other subjects. The EBacc figure reflects this student-centred approach and the breadth of our curriculum.

The Average Point Score for 2022 for the EBacc is 4.65 compared to an average of 4.08 is Leicester City.

Attainment 8

This is the average grade that students obtained in their GCSEs at a school, and for 2019 this was 48.30. Given that our students have very varied starting points when they enter the school in Year 7, this is a very impressive outcome and again represents outstanding progress. The Attainment 8 figures in 2020 and 2021 were 51.03 and 53.61 respectively and has now risen to 55.33 for 2022.

Destination measures

A measure of a school’s success is how well-prepared students are for the next stage in their life. In 2019 98.5% of our students were in full-time education, employment or training by November of the year they left school. This reflects the strong emphasis in school on careers education and preparation for working life.

 Click here to visit the DFE School Performance Website