Exam Results & Academic Performance
Understanding a school's academic performance requires looking beyond a single headline number. The following data details the outcomes for the 2024-2025 cohort of 1875 students at Poole High School. By comparing these figures against local and national benchmarks, parents can build a clearer picture of how well the school supports its pupils academically.
Attainment 8
Attainment 8 measures a student's average grade across eight key subjects, including English and Maths (which are double-weighted), three EBacc subjects (like sciences, humanities, or languages), and three other approved qualifications. It gives a broad overview of raw academic achievement.
For 2024-2025, Poole High School achieved an Attainment 8 score of 51. This is a strong result that sits comfortably above the BCP average for non-selective schools (46.44). In fact, it exceeds the overall BCP average of 50.77 (which includes grammar schools) and significantly outpaces the national England mean of 46.3 (for 2023-24). This impressive score places the school 9 of 22 out of the 22 secondary schools in the BCP area that published data.
It is also important to look at the attainment gap for disadvantaged pupils. At Poole High School, disadvantaged students achieved an Attainment 8 score of 35.4. While lower than the whole-school average—a trend seen nationally—it remains a critical metric for understanding how the school supports its most vulnerable learners.
Basics (9-5 and 9-4)
The "Basics" measure tracks the percentage of students who achieve passing grades in both English and Mathematics. A grade 4 is considered a "standard pass" (equivalent to an old C grade), while a grade 5 is a "strong pass".
At Poole High School, 55.6% of students achieved a strong pass (grades 9-5) in English and Maths. A broader 78.3% achieved at least a standard pass (grades 9-4). These figures represent a solid core of students securing the fundamental qualifications necessary for most post-16 education pathways.
English Baccalaureate (EBacc)
The EBacc is not a standalone qualification, but rather a set of subjects (English, Maths, Sciences, a language, and history or geography) considered essential for keeping higher education options open. The EBacc Average Point Score (APS) calculates the average pupil score across these specific subjects.
With an EBacc entry rate of 56.6%, a significant portion of the cohort is engaging with this rigorous curriculum. The resulting EBacc APS is 4.67. Much like the Attainment 8 score, this is highly competitive locally. It beats the BCP non-selective average of 4.16 and ranks the school 9 of 22 across all BCP schools.
Progress 8
While Attainment 8 measures raw grades, Progress 8 measures how much value a school adds. It calculates the progress students make from their baseline assessments at the end of primary school (Key Stage 2) to their GCSEs, compared to students nationally with similar starting points. A score of 0.0 means students made exactly average progress.
For the 2024-2025 academic year, Progress 8 data is not published. This is because the cohort taking GCSEs in this year did not sit Key Stage 2 baseline assessments during primary school, meaning no national baseline exists to calculate progress. However, for context, in the prior available year (2023-2024), the school's Progress 8 score was . For detailed historical trends, parents should consult the DfE performance tables directly.