Setting priorities for Y11 as a school Leader in England

Now that the Autumn Term is underway for schools and colleges in England, here are some reflections from Alps on setting KS4 priorities for Y11.

1. Understand Your Context: Raw Attainment

Table 1 shows how results in 2025 compare with results awarded from 2019 to 2025.

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Table 1 (adapted from JCQ data)

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National results for all students in England were slightly higher than in 2019 at 9-4 and above. They were below 2019 at all other thresholds.

Table 2 shows how results in England in 2025 for 16-year-olds compared with results awarded from 2019 to 2023.

Table 2 (adapted from JCQ data)

National results for 16-year-old students in England were higher than in 2019 at 9-4 and above. They were slightly below 2019 at 9-2 and 9-1.

Table 3 from the JCQ compares results for 16-year-olds in English & maths in England in 2025 with results in 2024.

Table 3 (JCQ)

Table 4 shows how the results awarded to 16-year-olds in England in 2025 compare with results awarded to 16-year-olds in Wales and Northern Ireland.

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Table 4 (adapted from JCQ data)

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The gaps in regional performance in England were significant again in 2025, as Table 5 from the JCQ demonstrates.

Table 5

These variations mean students in many areas are far less likely to go on to Level 3 study Post-16 and, subsequently, university / higher education.

Table 6 from SCHOOLSWEEK shows how the award of 5+ and 7+ grades has varied across subjects in 2019, 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Question to ask yourself: How does your school’s performance compare with these national and regional figures?

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Table 6

2. Understand Your Context: Accountability Measures

As you are aware there will be no Progress 8 calculated in either 2025 or 2026 as the students in these GCSE cohorts did not take KS2 SATs in 2020 or 2021.

The national averages for A8 and the Basics at 4+ and 5+ are not yet available. national figures will not be available until October at the earliest. 

Questions to ask yourself: How did your school perform in terms of A8 and the Basics? How close are your results for these Performance Measures to your predicted outcomes?

3. Vocational Outcome Summaries

Graph A from FFT suggests that attainment has risen slightly in 2025.

Graph A (FFT)

4. Assessing and tracking your value-added progress during the KS4 fallow years

The majority of Alps’ schools are using CAT test data as the prior attainment for these cohorts. Some are using Table 7 below to generate Minimum Expected Grades based on the CAT Mean SAS scores whereas others are using the indicative KS2 Levels available in the CAT test results, so they are additional able to calculate indicative P8 scores.

Table 7

During 2025-26 we will continue to use the 2024 DfE national data set for you to track in-year progress against. 

We are obviously aware that CAT scores do not provide a target-setting solution for all schools. We also recommend a system based on distributed ranking.

• Use your typical percentages in each DfE scaled score band to provide an average to apply to Y11.
• For example, create an average for your school based on a selection of Y11 2022-23, Y11 2023-24, Y9 2025-26, Y8 2025-26 and Y7 2025-26.
• Rank the students in your Y11 cohort based on academic potential to place students in each scaled score band. You might wish to refer to:
  
• Reading ages
  
• Baseline Maths and English testing
  
• Your teacher assessments in KS3
  
• Divide the students in each DfE scaled score band further into Alps’ PA bands to set Minimum Expected Grades.
• Table 8 exemplifies the distributed ranking methodology.
  

Table 8

• Having set MEGs, whether with CAT test data or by distributed ranking, remember that we are liberated for Y11 from accepting that the best determiner of potential at KS4 is ability in maths & English at age 11. 
  
• As these cohorts have no ‘official’ baseline, and will have no P8, a radical solution to setting personal challenge targets that is proving popular is to: 
  • Calculate the number of students that are be in each PA band for each KS4 subject, using CATs or distributed ranking. 
  • Issue to HoDs. 
  • Allow each department or faculty to decide which students should be in which band based on perceived ability in their subject. 
  • Set personalised challenge targets in subjects using that information. 
  • Expect subject teachers to challenge each student to achieve the highest grade they are capable of achieving in each studied.
    

5. Set priorities based on your school or college’s performance in 2025

Key questions for this time of year:

1. What strategic priorities emerge from your raw results?
   
2. What strategic priorities emerge from your value-added?
   
3. Was the performance of any significant student group concerning?
   
4. Which subjects performed best and least well in 2025?
   
5. Which subjects predicted final grades most or least accurately in 2025?
   
6. Which subjects had inconsistent performance at teaching set level?
   
7. What are you doing right now to try to consolidate strengths and eradicate weaknesses in 2025-26? 
   

6. Set priorities based on your new Y11’s end of Y10 data

Key questions and suggestions for this time of year:

1. What strategic ‘data’ priorities had already emerged before the end of the Summer Term in Y10?
   
2. What priorities relating to attendance or attitude to learning or mental health etc. were significant issues during Y10?
   
3. At Alps, we suggest uploading a Monitoring Point Zero (MPZ) at the start of Y11. Essentially this is your final Y10 assessment data but edited so the students are moved into their Y11 sets with Y11 teachers who can easily see where their students appear to be based on end-of-Year 10 performance.
   
4. 
   Which other priorities are now in place because of any disappointing surprises in terms of 2025 results?
1. Do you need a sharp focus on improving matching at 4+ and / or 5+?
   
2. Are results at 7+ in need of boosting in the year ahead?
   
5. The academic year often begins with in-depth evaluation of results in Raising Standards meetings with subject leads. Perhaps in September 2025, these meetings need a focus on current Y11, where they appear to be based on Y10 assessment, and how best to move forwards effectively.
   
6. As always, we recommend that you prioritise those things you can control, such as the quality of teaching and learning, the quality of guidance and support, and the quality of your leadership at all levels.
   
7. Create a realistic assessment timetable with subject leads to enable students to practice and master the skills required in examinations.
   
8. Use Alps Connect effectively throughout the year to help identify subjects, sets, student groups and students for support (& praise).
   
9. As well as maths, both English and all science, we recommend a sharp focus on the other subjects taken by larger cohorts of Y11 students as these subjects will have the most significant impact on this cohort’s outcomes and post-16 pathways as well as your A8 score and your Alps VA.
   
10. Your top priority must involve putting the students’ needs and interests first, aiming for each to reach their potential and, perhaps crucially, to achieve positive post-18 pathways.