A seemingly draconian system of testing and ranking every pupil in every subject twice a year and displaying the results is reaping rewards in some of the most deprived areas.
“Rank order” was introduced at Sacred Heart Catholic School in Southwark, southeast London, by Serge Cefai, the head, who said he was fed up with “the PC brigade” claiming that disadvantaged children should not be assessed in case the results upset them.
Half the children at Sacred Heart are entitled to the pupil premium for children from low-income families and more than half speak English as their second language.
Despite this, the school tops the GCSE league table in the borough.
Last year 81 per cent of its pupils passed at least five GCSEs, including maths and English, at grades A* to C.
The system has been adopted by two others near by, as well as secondaries in Bournemouth and Swindon.
