Guthlaxton College achieved a 13% point increase in 5A*-C GCSEs including English and Maths in 2010, making it the most improved upper school in Leicestershire.

Guthlaxton College achieved a 13% point increase in 5A*-C GCSEs including English and Maths in 2010. This is a fantastic achievement by the students in the College and a credit to their efforts, the work by the staff and the support from their parents. It is also a celebration of the legacy provided by the wonderful partner High schools and the primary schools in Wigston. The three High schools are all rated outstanding by OfSTED and the performance by Guthlaxton College this year represents a level of progress from Key Stage 3 to Key Stage 4 only matched by the best 25% of schools in the Country.

Guthlaxton College may never be in the top 100 schools in England. Yet what we achieve with the students we have is better than many other schools; we provide genuine added value or, in boxing terms, we punch well above our weight. If we compare like with like; there is evidence to show that students who join us from our feeder High schools are more likely to do better than their friends who chose to go to other Upper schools in Leicestershire.

Wigston is part of Leicestershire that also borders on the city of Leicester.  Guthlaxton College is a genuinely comprehensive school with inclusive values and we believe in the care and success for all our students. If you are a student aspiring to Oxford and Cambridge, at Guthlaxton you can achieve this ambition; many have! In 2010 94% of our Express Maths students achieved an A* or an A. Our brightest three GCSE students achieved 33A* between them and our top A-level student achieved 3A*, a perfect score. You can’t get much better than that! Also, our brightest students can study languages or Triple Sciences just as they can at an Independent school.

We have a Performing Arts reputation and spirit of collaboration that is second to none in Leicestershire with many visitors commenting that you would have to go to the West End to match the quality of our shows. We are a Creative school and we also excel at sports. There is something for everyone; no matter your ability we make the most of all your talents, skills and potential. We don't just focus on the academic; we promote the soft-skills: self-esteem, collaboration, confidence and independence – these predict outcomes more accurately than prior attainment. In fact, sociability, punctuality, conscientiousness, the ability to get on with others, and extra-curricular are better predictors of future earning and achievement than grades! Moreover, because we are a school in challenging circumstances you will be hard pressed to find better teaching and associate staff than ours.

Furthermore, in 2010 we achieved our best ever results. Are we complacent? No. We are a good school and we want to become a great school. We are aiming to beat our best ever results by 8% next year and then we will be in the top ten schools in Leicestershire. Watch this space. Like the leaping tiger of our logo, Guthlaxton is a big cat on the move, we are all Learning to Succeed!

John Keller

Principal

Published on Monday 13th September 2010 at 09:00