Regulation 5 Performance targets for pupils aged 15–16 years

(1)

This regulation applies to every school where education is provided which is suitable to the requirements of pupils who have attained the age of 15 years.

(2)

The governing body of a school to which this regulation applies shall, by no later than 31st December in every school year, set the targets specified in paragraph (3) for each of the achievements specified in paragraph (4) in connection with the performance in examinations of pupils who will attain the age of 16 years during the school year in which they take those examinations.

(3)

The targets referred to in paragraph (2) are–

(a)

provisional targets in examinations to be administered at or near the end of the school year next but two;

(b)

reviewed targets in examinations to be administered at or near the end of the school year next but one, being the provisional targets set in the previous school year but revised if the governing body deem it necessary to do so in the light of a review by them of the provisional targets; and

(c)

final targets in connection with the performance of the relevant group of pupils aged 15 years in examinations to be administered at or near the end of the following school year.

(4)

The achievements referred to in paragraph (2) are–

(a)

the percentage of pupils to achieve any grade from A* to C in a GCSE examination in English or Welsh (other than Welsh second language) and in both a GCSE examination in mathematics and a GCSE examination in science;

(b)

the difference between the percentage of girls and the percentage of boys respectively to achieve any grade from A* to C in a GCSE examination in English or Welsh (other than Welsh second language) and in both a GCSE examination in mathematics and a GCSE examination in science;

(c)

the percentage of pupils to achieve any grade from A* to C in five or more subjects in GCSE examinations;

(d)

the percentage of pupils to achieve any grade from A* to G in five or more subjects in GCSE examinations; and

(e)

the percentage of pupils to leave school without achieving either any grade from A* to G in GCSE examinations or passing any CoEA examinations.

(5)

In paragraph (4)–

(a)

references to pupils achieving particular grades in GCSE examinations shall be construed for the purposes of those provisions so as to include references to pupils achieving corresponding awards in an equivalent number of vocational qualifications or GCSE short course examinations; and

(b)

references to pupils leaving school do not include pupils transferring to another educational institution on a full-time basis.

(6)

Schedule 1 shall have effect for determining, for the purposes only of this regulation and regulation 7, questions as to–

(a)

which vocational qualification award corresponds to which GCSE examination grade;

(b)

the equivalency between GCSE examination results and vocational qualifications; and

(c)

the equivalency between GCSE examination results and GCSE short course examination results.

(7)

In this regulation the “relevant group of pupils aged 15 years” in relation to a school and to any school year, means all persons–

(a)

who the governing body anticipate will be registered pupils at that school on the Schools' Census enumeration date in the following school year; and

(b)

who will attain the age of 16 years during the following school year.