We value all of our partner schools but GITEP is particularly proud to work closely with the seven Gloucestershire schools whose achievements have been recognised by The Sunday Times Schools Guide 2018, placing them in the top 20 schools in the whole of the South West, with many of Gloucestershire’s secondary schools also high in the national rankings.

Every year The Sunday Times produces a Schools Guide which compares the examination performance of the top 2000 state and independent, primary and secondary schools in Britain. Schools are ranked by performance at A-level and GCSE in summer 2017 (schools with no sixth form, catering for 11 to 16-year-olds only, or those with new sixth forms, are ranked by performance at GCSE in 2017).

Pate’s Grammar School gained the accolade of South West State Secondary School of the Year 2017-18, a huge achievement and very well deserved. This is the icing on the cake for Pate’s: they were marked as Outstanding in every area by Ofsted at their last inspection, showing that their examination grades are not the whole story, rather the result of outstanding teaching and excellent leadership, which leads to exemplary behaviour from students who have high expectations and aspirations. It takes a lot of hard work from the whole school but it’s so worth it!

With schools like this in our partnership, it’s small wonder that our trainee teachers get such a good training experience and are so employable at the end of their training. The headteachers at each and every one of our partner schools train them with a view to improving the chances of the pupils at their schools. They, and we, are always on the lookout for new teaching talent and it appears that this approach is bringing in some excellent candidates who, for the most part, become superb teachers. Training to teach in such outstanding schools, being mentored by outstanding teachers and absorbing the culture and ethos in these schools helps our trainees to see not only how good they can be, but what a difference they can make to their students.

TOP STATE SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN THE SOUTHWEST 2018

1. Pate’s Grammar School

2. Colyton Grammar School

3. South Wilts Grammar School for Girls

4. Bishop Wordsworth’s School

5. Parkstone Grammar School

6. Torquay Girls’ Grammar School

7. Torquay Boys’ Grammar School

8. Sir Thomas Rich’s School

9= Bournemouth School for Girls

9= Stroud High School

11. Devonport High School for Girls

12. High School for Girls, Gloucester

13. Poole Grammar School

14. Devonport High School for Boys

15. The Crypt School 

16. Bournemouth School

17. Balcarras School

18. Malmesbury School

19. Royal Wootton Bassett Academy

20. Marling School