Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust celebrates the achievements of Sunderland's catholic schools

Two Catholic schools connected to the Bishop Chadwick Catholic Education Trust (BCCET) are celebrating being ranked as some of the region’s top performing schools in the Sunday Times Schools Guide.
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St Joseph’s RC Primary School, which is due to join the trust early next year, was ranked as the North East’s best performing primary school and placed 24th nationally in the Parent Power guide.

Responding to the news, headteacher Stephanie Brown said: "We are absolutely delighted to have won this accolade which is for the whole community of St Joseph's. I'd like to thank our very committed staff, very hardworking children and our parents and governors."

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Five Sunderland schools included in the Sunday Times top-performing schools tabl...
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Another one of the Trust’s schools has also been recognised in the 29th edition of The Sunday Times guide as one of Britain’s highest achieving secondary schools in the state sector with St Anthony’s Girls’ Catholic Academy ranked the 10th best secondary school in the North East.

St Anthony’s headteacher Monica Shepherd said: "I am delighted that St. Anthony’s Girls’ Catholic Academy is included once again in The Sunday Times Parent Power Top Ten State Schools in the North-East list. This is another wonderful accolade for the staff and our pupils. The girls of St. Anthony’s are a credit to their parents, carers, families and the whole community of our city by the sea."

Brendan Tapping, Chief Executive Officer at BCCET, added: “It’s a credit to the wonderful staff and students at both St Joseph’s and St Anthony’s to be named in such a prestigious, highly regarded school guide.

“Both schools, like all of the schools within our Trust, provide welcoming, diverse and nurturing environments for our children where learning, kindness and excellence are championed with Christ in our hearts.

St Anthony’s Girls’ Catholic Academy was ranked the 10th best secondary school in the North East.

Photograph: Dru Dodd PhotographySt Anthony’s Girls’ Catholic Academy was ranked the 10th best secondary school in the North East.

Photograph: Dru Dodd Photography
St Anthony’s Girls’ Catholic Academy was ranked the 10th best secondary school in the North East. Photograph: Dru Dodd Photography
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“We always strive to be the best versions of ourselves we can be, and we teach children why it's important to aim for this across all aspects of life.

“The 2022 Parent Power recognition demonstrates how child-centred we are as a Trust with each of our schools putting their interests first, encouraging them to fulfil their potential throughout their education journey.

“A special mention must go to St Joseph’s, which has been named not just one of the leading primary schools in England, but the best primary in the North East.

“Huge congratulations to the entire school community at St Joseph’s who have all played a pivotal part in their ongoing success.”

St Josephs RC Primary School was ranked as the North East's top performing primary school.St Josephs RC Primary School was ranked as the North East's top performing primary school.
St Josephs RC Primary School was ranked as the North East's top performing primary school.
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The rankings were based on the average outcomes achieved by schools in Standard Assessment Tests (SATs) taken in Year 6. For secondary schools, the rankings are based on the percentage of pupils entering exams who achieved A* to B grades at A-level or grades 9 to 7 at GCSE.

Due to the disruption caused by the Covid pandemic, and the replacement of examinations with teacher assessed grades, it is impossible to make a like for like comparison to pre-pandemic year groups. For this reason, the Sunday Times has used the most recent public examination results from 2017 to 2019 to attain average exam performance over this three year period.

It is for this reason that the Government has not produced comparative league tables for the last two years. Unlike the Sunday Times rankings, Government tables are based on a statistical calculation showing progress made by pupils rather than raw attainment.

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