We encourage parents and carers to discuss school reports with their child, celebrating successes and identifying and formulating a plan to overcome the areas requiring improvement. 

Understanding The Report 

Attendance 

The Attendance Target is 100%. You will be able to find an attendance percentage at the top of every report that is sent home. Regular school attendance is essential for all our students to make good progress, achieve their academic potential and consequently have better chances in life. Every student, in line with the Government’s expectations, is expected to maintain an attendance level of 97% and above. Everyone in our school community (parents, students, staff, and governors) has a part to play in helping achieve this. A reminder if you have any queries regarding attendance to email: attendance@tbowa.org  

Previous Assessment Information 

Key Stage 2 Standard Attainment Tests (SATS – Year 6) 

Most students arrive at The Academy with SATS assessment data demonstrating their abilities in Literacy (reading, writing, spelling and grammar) and Numeracy.   

Cognitive Ability Tests (CATs) 

The Academy assesses all students using CATs on entry to the Academy. This information helps inform teaching staff of the potential strengths and weaknesses of each individual student. This enables teachers to plan effectively and to support all students in making good progress. 

What are Cognitive Ability Tests (CATs)? 

They are a measure of a range of reasoning skills. The tests look at reasoning with three types of symbols: words, numbers and shapes or figures. The tests do not require practice or revision of any particular content or body of knowledge. Instead, they are designed to test general ability in three areas: 

• Shapes or figures NVR – Non-Verbal Reasoning 

• Words VR – Verbal Reasoning 

• Numbers QU – Quantitative Reasoning 

Students’ CATs will be scored against the average of 100. Students will have a score for each of the above, and a final measure of the average of the three tests. 

TBOWA Assessment Information 

Key Stage 3 (Years 7, 8 and 9) 

Students at the Academy will take regular assessments in all their subjects (at least twice per year). Our Standards Lead will contact parents throughout the year with assessment information and timetables. 

Year 7: Baseline (some subjects only, in the Autumn), spring-term and end of year. 
Year 8: Spring-term and end of year. 
Year 9: Autumn-term and end of year. 

Key Stage 4 (Years 10 and11) 

Students at the Academy will take regular assessments in all their subjects (at least twice per year). Our Standards Lead and/or Exams team will contact parents throughout the year with assessment information and timetables. 

Year 10: Autumn-term and Spring-term. 
Year 11: Autumn-term and Spring-term, with external exams in the summer-term (including GCSEs). 

Key Stage 5 (Years 12 and13) 

Students at the Academy will take regular assessments in all their subjects (at least twice per year). Our Head of 6th Form and/or Exams team will contact parents throughout the year with assessment information and timetables. 

Year 12: Baseline (in the Autumn), Spring-term and end of year (including external exams for vocational students in January and May) 
Year 13: Autumn-term and Spring-term, with external exams in the Summer-term (including external exams for vocational students in January and May). 

Students on vocational courses and some A level courses will have coursework units to complete which are internally assessed throughout the school year and sent away for external moderation. Marks awarded contribute to results. 

 

Report Data 

Reports for all year groups might include the following data: 

Attitude to Learning (ATL) and Attitude to Homework (ATH) 

ATL and ATH are numbered from 1 to 4.  

1: Outstanding; consistently demonstrating Bishop qualities; going beyond what has been asked of them. 
2: Good; completes tasks to the best of their ability. 
3: Requires improvement; not yet meeting the high expectations and qualities of a Bishop student. 
4: Not able to comment; student not been seen enough for a fair judgement of quality of work to be made. 

Percentages (out of 100) are awarded throughout the year for: 

- Assessments, usually a formal written exam 

- Knowledge Organisers, usually a multiple-choice test based on recent homework activities 

- Progress checks, usually a multiple-choice test. The content depends on the department, examples might include spelling tests, Language Nut or Sparx. 

 

Bandings are based on formal assessments and are numbered from 1 (highest) to 5 (lowest). It shows that assessment performance has placed your child: 
 

1: in the top 20% of the year group. 
2: between 21% and 40% of the year group. 
3: between 41% and 60% of the year group. 
4: between 61% and 80% of the year group. 
5: in the bottom 20% of the year group. 

The scores required for each band will differ according to subject and difficulty level. 

Report Data for Key Stage 4 Students 

Reports for students in Years 10 and 11 also include the following data: 

Target grade: this is the grade your child should be working towards by the end of Year 11. 

Mock grade: this might be a GCSE grade or a Vocational grade and indicates the level achieved in a formal exam setting. 

Current grades: this might be a GCSE grade or a Vocational grade and indicates the teacher assessed grade based on classroom learning. 

Report Data for Key Stage 5 Students 

Reports for students in Years 12 and 13 are the same as for Key Stage 4. 

 
 
Vocation grading system 

For vocational subjects, assessment data has been graded using the vocational grading system: 

D: Distinction (highest) 
M: Merit 
P: Pass (lowest) 
‘+’ is used to indicate a stronger result, ‘-‘ is used to indicate a weaker result. 

Who should I contact if I have questions regarding school reports? 

In the event of any queries, teachers’ names and email addresses can be found on all our reports.  

If you have questions concerning behaviour, please speak to the mentor in the first instance. 

If you have questions concerning progress data, please speak to the class teacher or head of department in the first instance.  

Any questions related to SEND and/or exam access arrangements should be sent to SENCO@tbowa.org. 

For pastoral queries, please speak to the mentor or Head of Year in the first instance. 

 

Levels Ladder

The Levels Ladder should help you understand the link between levels and grades.