Top-rated school in county celebrates pupils' success (From Gazette & Herald)

Top-rated school in county celebrates pupils' success

ONE of North Yorkshire's leading independent schools has had two excellent reasons to celebrate.

In the Government's latest schools' statistic - the amount of value added by secondary schools within both the state and independent sectors - Ampleforth College was placed sixth in England and first in North Yorkshire.

There were only three other independent schools ranked above the college in the whole country. According to the Government's guideline, the value added statistic shows how children's achievement rose between their final primary school year and their GCSE year.

Father Gabriel Everitt, headmaster of Ampleforth College, said: "The school has always welcomed students of many abilities and various aptitudes and taken pleasure and pride in helping each of them raise their achievements and realise their individual potential.

"We make provision for the gifted and talented, with their own scholars' tutor, as well as for those with learning difficulties, through a special needs teacher.

"We have been monitoring this programme with our own measures, with the aim of giving parents a fuller understanding of educational achievement than the league tables and exam results can show.

"Now it is gratifying to have the official recognition of the Government's own study."

The school is also celebrating its best success with Oxbridge entry offer results for some time.

A dozen students have been offered places to study a variety of subjects at both Oxford and Cambridge. This compares with nine last year.

Three local students are amongst the successful candidates.

Richard Ansell, from Easingwold, and Anthony Pitt, from Whenby, near Malton, have been offered places to read history at Selwyn College, Cambridge, and classics at St Benet's Hall, Oxford, respectively.

Richard Thornton, of Easingwold, who left the college last year has been offered a place to read engineering science at St Hugh's College, Oxford.

Updated: 11:44 Friday, January 28, 2005