How to Overcome FSM
Who are the Trailblazers with FSM?
There are 19 schools in the country who are doing so well with FSM students that they are virtually in a different country of their own. These are schools where FSM students have a P8 score of over 0.8.
To give you some perspective, there were only two schools in the country where students entering at level 5 had a P8 of over 0.8.
Yet most of us assume that it is easier to make progress with bright students than with the disadvantaged. Something incredible is happening in these 19 schools.
If you have a large cohort of FSM students, you simply must visit some of these schools.
| No. FSM in Yr 11 | P8 for FSM | Name | Town | Tel | NFTYPE | RELDENOM | ADMPOL | EGENDER |
| 33 | 1.31 | Tauheedul Islam Girls’ High School | Blackburn | 0125 454021 | ACC | Muslim | COMP | GIRLS |
| 93 | 1.16 | Harris Academy Battersea | London | 0207 6220026 | AC | Does not apply | COMP | MIXED |
| 13 | 1.09 | St Andrew’s Catholic School | Leatherhead | 0137 2277881 | VA | Roman Catholic | COMP | MIXED |
| 45 | 1.07 | Ark King Solomon Academy | London | 0207 5636900 | AC | Does not apply | COMP | MIXED |
| 56 | 1.06 | The St Thomas the Apostle College | London | 0207 6390106 | VA | Roman Catholic | COMP | BOYS |
| 61 | 1 | Sheffield Park Academy | Sheffield | 0114 2392661 | AC | Christian | COMP | MIXED |
| 9 | 0.99 | Queen Elizabeth’s School, Barnet | Barnet | 0208 4414646 | ACC | None | SEL | BOYS |
| 10 | 0.99 | Tauheedul Islam Boys’ High School | Blackburn | 0125 4918670 | F | Muslim | COMP | BOYS |
| 8 | 0.98 | Nonsuch High School for Girls | Sutton | 0208 3943400 | ACC | None | SEL | GIRLS |
| 38 | 0.98 | Wren Academy | London | 0208 4926000 | AC | Church of England | COMP | MIXED |
| 6 | 0.94 | St Bede’s Catholic High School | Ormskirk | 0169 5570335 | VA | Roman Catholic | COMP | MIXED |
| 82 | 0.93 | Harris Girls’ Academy East Dulwich | London | 0207 7322276 | AC | Does not apply | COMP | GIRLS |
| 68 | 0.92 | City of London Academy Islington | London | 0207 2268611 | AC | Does not apply | COMP | MIXED |
| 90 | 0.91 | The City Academy, Hackney | London | 0208 5255440 | AC | Does not apply | COMP | MIXED |
| 8 | 0.88 | Preston Muslim Girls High School | Preston | 0177 2651906 | VA | Muslim | COMP | GIRLS |
| 32 | 0.85 | Uffculme School | Cullompton | 0188 4840458 | ACC | None | COMP | MIXED |
| 16 | 0.84 | St Thomas More Catholic Comprehensive School | London | 0208 8506700 | ACC | Roman Catholic | COMP | MIXED |
| 48 | 0.83 | Sacred Heart Catholic School | London | 0207 2746844 | ACC | Roman Catholic | COMP | MIXED |
| 168 | 0.81 | Forest Gate Community School | London | 0208 5348666 | CY | Does not apply | COMP | MIXED |
Some preliminary questions
10 of these schools have a religious status. What does this allow them to do in raising the expectations and progress of their disadvantaged students?
11 of these schools are in London. Apart from funding, what else does the London setting appear to offer these schools or students which allows them to perform so well?
Only two of these schools are selective, although that is possibly in line with the proportion of selective schools nationally. Does this mean that having a high proportion of students entering at level 5 is not essential?
7 of these schools is single sex. This is much higher than their proportion is the school population as a whole, about 12%. What is it about being a single sex school which appears to make it easier to get such dramatic progress?
7 of these schools have cohorts of over 50 FSM students. Should we focus on them, because what they are doing is less likely to be due to chance?
Your Next Steps?
Well, you know the name of the school and their phone numbers. Only connect.
If you teach at one of these schools, let’s crowd source some ideas about their success, so we can steal them for our own schools.