THE government has revealed the town’s best performing secondary schools and Darton Academy has come out on top.
The Department for Education’s school league tables were released earlier this month and show the performances of all schools across the borough.
It measures the progress that pupils have made between key stage two the end of primary school to key stage four the end of the GCSE year.
The table shows that Darton Academy, under the wing of the Delta Academies Trust, were the best performing school in Barnsley over the time period.
They were one of only two schools in Barnsley who achieved a progress score of above zero as they achieved a plus 0.37 score.
Penistone Grammar School was the other.
A total of 53 per cent of pupils at Darton achieved a grade five or above in both English and maths in the GCSEs taken during the summer, which is 12 per cent above the local authority average.
Principal Joe Spencer told the Chronicle the result is a testament to how hard the staff and pupils are working at the school.
He added: “To be the best performing school in Barnsley and top of the league table is testament to the hard work of both our committed staff and outstanding pupils.
“I am very grateful for the ongoing support of our parents and carers.
“Progress is the measure that is most important to our academy community.
“A progress score of +0.37 demonstrates that students at Darton make over a third more progress than students with similar starting points.
“We regularly outperform most other schools in Barnsley, but to be top of the league table against some very strong competition makes me incredibly proud.”
Both Darton and Penistone were classed as above average, while Horizon Community College and Kirk Balk Academy were placed in the ‘average category’.
Outwood Academy Carlton, Barnsley Academy, Netherwood Academy and Outwood Academy Shafton were all ‘’below average’.
While Astrea Academy Dearne and Holy Trinity were ‘well below average’.
A spokesperson for Astrea Academy Dearne said: “At Astrea Academy Dearne we are unapologetically ambitious for every child, no matter what their background, prior attainment or needs.
“We want to ensure that all our scholars have the option to be able to go to university or aspirational alternative, by leaving the school with an excellent set of outcomes.
“We are delighted that, after an inspection last year, Ofsted inspectors rated our school as ‘good’.
“Our main goal for this year is to work with families and partner agencies to significantly improve attendance and ensure all scholars access the brilliant education on offer each and every day.”
The progress league tables for primary schools have also been revealed.
Brierley Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School tops the list with 90 per cent of its pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.
Parkside Primary Academy, Silkstone Primary School and Mapplewell Primary School also performed well.
