[UK Boarding School Rankings: Tips to Avoid School Ranking Traps]

Choosing an ideal UK boarding school for your children is undoubtedly a big challenge for parents. In casual conversations with other parents, you may have heard many of them say, "I want to find a boarding school in the UK that ranks in the top 50." or "How can I find schools ranked higher than 400 in the UK boarding school rankings?" However, with the various UK boarding school rankings available, it can be confusing to determine which one truly has reference value.

1. What are the UK boarding school rankings?

There is no official UK government-generated ranking of boarding schools in the UK. The rankings mentioned by parents are generally the ones published by newspapers or authoritative organisations, such as The Telegraph and The Times. These rankings often use GCSE and A Level results published in August each year as the criteria. Since each organisation has its own statistical methods and limitations, the results of each ranking are not the same. Among the rankings that predominantly use academic performance as the criteria, I have chosen two commonly referenced UK boarding school ranking tables to analyse:

#1 The Telegraph: Based on the proportion of A* and A grades achieved in A Levels

The Telegraph is a highly influential newspaper in the UK. Their ranking method involves a comprehensive ranking based on the proportion of A* and A grades achieved by students in A Level examinations. The results of students taking the IB and Pre-U courses are also converted into equivalent A Level grades and included in The Telegraph's ranking. Although The Telegraph to some extent reflects students' academic performance, it has limitations. Some independent schools do not want their students' performance to be quantified and excessively compared, so they do not disclose their public examination results. For example, elite schools like Eton College and Harrow School, familiar to Hong Kong people, may not appear on this ranking. Therefore, the results may be somewhat biassed.

#2 The Times: Based on A Level and GCSE results

The Times and The Sunday Times are another authoritative newspaper in the UK. Their ranking method combines the proportion of A* to B grades achieved in A Levels and the proportion of A* and A grades achieved in GCSEs to create a national ranking. Parents should note that schools participating in The Times' rankings are required to pay a fee, so some schools with fewer resources or smaller scales may choose not to participate.

The rankings from The Times and The Telegraph can differ significantly. For example, Cardiff Sixth Form College ranked first in The Telegraph in 2018 but did not make it to the top ten in The Times. This is because The Times considers GCSE results as part of the evaluation criteria, and Cardiff Sixth Form College is a pre-college institution that does not offer GCSE courses. Therefore, it is at a disadvantage in The Times' ranking. When referring to The Times' rankings, parents should also confirm if the school has GCSE results.

2. Avoid being trapped by rankings.

Hong Kong parents planning to send their children to study in the UK tend to follow the rule of "choosing schools based on rankings." However, after analysis, you should realise that the two most influential rankings, The Telegraph and The Times and Sunday Times, each have their strengths and weaknesses. More importantly, rankings provide an incomplete description of a school's educational quality as they solely reflect students' examination results and do not include non-academic performances. Parents should know that the UK university admissions process differs from that in Hong Kong, where it is not solely based on achieving high grades in public examinations. UK universities place great emphasis on students' overall performance, including A Level grades, personal statements, and teacher recommendations, each carrying a certain weight. Regardless of how good a student's grades are, without personal experiences and relevant achievements to showcase their uniqueness, it is difficult to stand out.

Some schools may restrict students' participation in extracurricular activities to achieve better rankings by allocating more time for higher grades. If parents desire the effect of an "A factory," they should be prepared for their children's work and life to be unbalanced. On the other hand, schools whose students' exam results may not be top-notch and do not rank high on the ranking tables may emphasise holistic education and encourage students to participate in diverse extracurricular activities, providing students with comprehensive development. There is no right or wrong type of school. In summary, there is no ranking that comprehensively reflects the overall strength of UK independent schools.

3. Tips for Choosing a School

So, when scores and rankings don't fully reflect a school's capabilities, how should we choose a school? Below, I will share with you some practical tips on how to use rankings sensibly. Besides grades and rankings, what other factors should be considered when selecting a school?

4.1 ☞Make Smart Use of Rankings

First, parents should determine the type of ranking. Does the ranking include only private schools or both state and private schools? After all, most Hong Kong students attend private schools, so it would be meaningless to refer to a ranking that includes state schools.

Second, academic performance is not determined overnight. To assess whether a school maintains consistent educational quality throughout secondary school, we should not only consider the performance of senior students but also the performance of junior students. Therefore, we should not only look at A-level results but also consider the school's GCSE results.

Third, since some private schools have a small number of students, if there is a decrease of 4-5 students in admissions in a particular year, the proportion of students achieving top grades in public exams will fluctuate significantly due to the change in the number of test-takers, leading to significant changes in rankings. Therefore, we should not only focus on one year's results but instead consider the results from at least the past three years. However, not all private schools in the UK participate in rankings, and grades should not be the sole criterion for school selection. Therefore, rankings should only serve as a reference.

4.2 ☞Visit the School's Official Website for Detailed Information

Parents can log on to the school's official website to gain in-depth knowledge about the school. For example, what is the school's educational philosophy and historical tradition? What is the school's scale and the quality of its learning facilities? In which subjects and activities does it excel? What is the proportion of international students? Some traditional British boarding schools have fewer international students, creating an environment more suitable for students to improve their English skills but requiring higher levels of independence. Some highly ranked British boarding schools have a larger number of Chinese students, which can also be seen as a powerful environment for children to build future social networks from a different perspective.

In addition to looking at the school's GCSE and A-level results, parents should also check the school's official website for information about the university destinations of its graduates. It is not just about whether the grades are good or not, but whether the students can get into the universities they aspire to and pursue their ideal paths. Some high-ranking schools may not have a high acceptance rate for prestigious universities like Oxford and Cambridge. When evaluating a school, we should not only focus on its academic performance but also consider the outcomes it brings.

4.3 ☞Consider the School's Support for Student Education and Career Guidance

Parents should also consider whether the school provides comprehensive support and assistance to students in their academic and career development. In addition to basic university selection advice and personal statement writing, we should also consider whether the school offers personalised support and opportunities for students' personal growth. For example, Cardiff Sixth Form College, which has a high university acceptance rate, offers a "Medical Elite Programme" for students interested in studying medicine, including hospital visits, medical school lectures, and shadowing programmes with doctors, among others.

4.4 ☞ Check the Supervision Reports Published by Education Regulatory Bodies: ISI Reports

Under the supervision of the Independent Schools Council (ISC), private schools in the UK undergo comprehensive inspections every 3 to 5 years, and the findings are compiled into independent reports by the Independent School Inspectorate (ISI) under the oversight of the UK government's Department for Education. Strictly speaking, ISI reports are not numerical rankings but rather objective factual reports. The ISI reports cover several key areas, including the quality of education, students' personal development, student welfare, health and safety, support from school staff, boarding arrangements, and leadership and management capabilities. Since the ISC does not include students' public exam scores as an evaluation criterion, if a school can meet all the assessment criteria in the ISI report, it indicates that the school is an education provider that meets government standards in areas other than just grades. However, parents should note that since everyone has different standards for education, the report can never replace the personal impressions gained by parents or students visiting the school themselves.

To summarise, parents must carefully consider rankings, as each ranking has its limitations, such as not including all boarding schools or having criteria that may be debatable. Instead of relying solely on one-dimensional rankings, rational parents should consider a school's overall performance, including its facilities, student-teacher ratio, students' individual values, and future prospects. When choosing a school, parents should always keep in mind that it's not about you studying but rather about your children studying. Therefore, the selection should be based on what is most conducive to their personal development. Consider your child's personality and goals, and choose accordingly to help them achieve their aspirations. This is more important than rankings. If you choose a school with a high ranking and good grades that is not suitable for your child, it goes against your initial intention of sending them abroad for education. I hope that parents can approach the rankings of major boarding schools with rationality and choose the school that truly suits their children.