Last month, SecEd reported on research showing just how volatile a school’s exam results can be from year-to-year. It has led to calls for schools to be judged on a rolling basis across five years of results. Tim Oates explains

Around 10 years ago, I was out mountain-biking with a great friend of mine, a senior teacher in a high-performing sixth-form college. It was a wonderful day, and the tracks on the South Downs were in fine condition. But he looked extremely glum.

“What’s up?” I asked. He said: “My A level results were vastly better this year...”

I immediately said: “But surely that’s good?”

“No,” he replied. “I have absolutely no idea why they are better; the pupils are roughly the same as last year, I taught the same syllabus in the same way, and these results will come back to haunt me since I can see no reason for them.

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