Letter to School Asking for School's League Table Position
League tables, as we all know, do not tell the whole story of a school's education provision. Knowing that a school is high in the league tables means that its pupils do well at public exams, but does not mean the school is perfect for your child, or provides excellent facilities, or pastoral care, etc. Still, league tables do help parents to discover the academic achievements of a school and for secondary schools they are also a measure of a school's success at helping children to gain qualifications such as GCSEs and A Levels.
So now we have established that league tables are useful but not crucial, lets look at where you can find them. First of all, you need to identify whether a school is state maintained or private. Some league table compilers separate out these types of school. The kinds of places you can locate league tables include on the internet, via a search engine, or in newspapers, which may publish the league tables of primary and secondary schools. These can be found in both local and national schools. If, however, you are not having success tracking down a league table or finding the school you are interested in on the league table, then you can contact a school to ask them about it. Some may be reluctant to respond, but if you ask in the right way, most will respond by telling you their place in the league table.
This letter format laid out below is a sample letter from parents to send to a school to ask about their league table position.
| The Headteacher Highview School This Town England Parental Address 5 May 2008 Dear Headteacher, My daughter, Candy Ranger, is changing schools next year, when she will leave her current primary school in year 6. We have been looking at the school provisions in the area and really relished the ethos of your school that we picked up on a recent open day. We enjoyed meeting many of the teachers, and Candy particularly mentioned that she was keen to attend your school. We did just want to find out a little more about the pupils' academic attainment. Obviously league tables are not a perfect way of identifying this, but as Candy's primary school has identified her as a 'high flyer' we are keen to ensure that she takes up a place at a secondary school that will give her the opportunity to flourish. So we wondered whether you would be able to let us know Highview's position in the league table over the past few years? Thank you very much in advance. You can contact me, Candy's father, on the address above, or you can ring me on 0161 3434 2301, or email me at mrranger@hotmail.com. I am hopeful of a speedy response as the deadlines for applying to schools are getting near! With thanks for your time and best wishes [signature] Mr and Mrs Ranger, mother and father of Candy Ranger |
