The Telegraph has published its national GCSE league table for 2025, using a new 40 point scoring system to assess almost 3,500 state secondary schools across England. The rankings draw on 10 publicly available data points including GCSE outcomes, class sizes, absence rates, subject breadth and post-16 destinations. Schools are then grouped into categories ranging from “very good” to “well below average”.
Three schools that serve Ilkeston families appear in this year’s analysis. Two are located in Ilkeston itself, while Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy sits just over the border but within the DE7 postcode area and is a popular choice for local pupils.
Ormiston Ilkeston Enterprise Academy
Ormiston Ilkeston Enterprise Academy received a total score of 16 out of 40, placing it in the “well below average” band.
Key figures include:
- Attainment 8 score: 40.4
- Development score (based on pupil progress): Below average
- English Baccalaureate (EBacc) grade 5 plus rate: 4.3 percent
- Pupils moving into education or work: 82.9 percent
- Average class size: 24.1
- No sixth form provision
- Total pupils: 972
The English Baccalaureate, commonly known as the EBacc, is a performance measure requiring pupils to achieve grade 5 or above in English, maths, science, history or geography, and a language. Low language entry rates across the area mean EBacc results tend to be significantly lower than national levels, which strongly affects the Telegraph’s scoring.
Kirk Hallam Community Academy
Kirk Hallam Community Academy scored 17 out of 40, also placing it in the “well below average” category.
Key figures include:
- Attainment 8 score: 38.6
- Development score: Well below average
- English Baccalaureate (EBacc) grade 5 plus rate: 0.7 percent
- Pupils moving into education or work: 85.6 percent
- Average class size: 20.6
- Has a sixth form
- Total pupils: 752
As with OIEA, the EBacc measure is a key factor in the overall score. Both Ilkeston schools sit well below the national average of 18 percent for pupils achieving grade 5 or above in all EBacc subjects.
Saint John Houghton Catholic Voluntary Academy
Saint John Houghton CVA, located just outside Ilkeston but within the DE7 area, scored 31 out of 40, placing it in the “above average” to “good” range under the Telegraph system.
Key figures include:
- Attainment 8 score: 48
- Development score: Above average
- English Baccalaureate (EBacc) grade 5 plus rate: 23.6 percent
- Pupils moving into education or work: 93.2 percent
- Average class size: 26.3
- Does not have a sixth form
- Total pupils: 678
Saint John Houghton’s EBacc performance is significantly higher than both the national average and the Derbyshire average, which helps drive its stronger overall score.
Understanding the scores
This year the Telegraph used 2023 to 24 academic data because updated national figures for 2024 to 25 have not been released due to ongoing post-pandemic data issues.
The scoring system gives particular weight to EBacc performance, student progress and class sizes. Because EBacc entry rates in Ilkeston are low, schools in the town tend to perform less well in this specific ranking compared with other national measures.
Ofsted outcomes
It is worth noting that Ofsted judged Ormiston Ilkeston Enterprise Academy to be “Good” in its most recent full inspection in 2024. The Telegraph’s analysis is a separate, data-driven comparison that does not include an overall Ofsted judgement.
How to explore the data
Parents can view the full national league table and search by postcode on The Telegraph website. The tool allows users to compare schools on any of the 10 scoring categories and see how each school sits relative to both local and national averages.
Ilkeston News will continue to track performance data for Derbyshire schools as further figures are published.