Good schools are good, for the children and for the parents’ blood pressure. But what gets us good schools?
An effective headteacher helps. Hopefully, you knew that, but new research from the Education Policy Institute adds to our knowledge, spelling out exactly how much difference a top head makes. Following the careers of more than 22,000 primary and 5,000 secondary heads, the researchers were able to identify when headteachers changed schools and the impact on exam results, which it found was quite a bit. If a secondary school replaces a not very good headteacher with an average one, pupils get a boost equivalent to an extra grade in one GCSE. Replace them with a top head? Make that an extra grade in two GCSEs. The financially minded should note an extra grade bags about £8,000 in higher earnings over your lifetime.
