ONLY one Isle of Wight school hit the national average with its GCSE results this year — the rest were below, or well below, average.

Figures published this week by the Department for Education also show 46 per cent of 16-year-olds on the Isle of Wight failed to pass their English and maths GCSEs. Those 489 students are now facing compulsory resits in June next year.

A total of 1,070 students took their GCSEs this year, with exams graded on a scale from 1 to 9.

Cowes Enterprise College was ranked the best school on the Island, with an Attainment 8 score of 49.6. The Attainment 8 score is based on students’ overall results in up to eight exams, including English and maths.

At the bottom of the Isle of Wight league table were the Isle of Wight Studio School, with an Attainment 8 score of 31.1, and Carisbrooke College, with 33.8.

The national average for state funded schools in England was 46.4.

Fifty per cent of Cowes students achieved a grade 5 or above in English and maths, compared to 23 per cent at Carisbrooke and eight per cent at the Isle of Wight Studio School.

UPDATED FRIDAY 13:22: Ryde School has issued the following statement: "Ryde School was delighted with a pass rate of 96 per cent at English language and 92 per cent at maths, with over half of our English language results and 47 per cent of the maths results being at grade 7 or above (the equivalent to A or A* in the old system.)

"Eighty-six per cent of our pupils achieved five or more A* to C (9 to 4) grades including maths and English.

"At Ryde School we have always been open about our exam results and the only reason they are not included in the government statistics is because our pupils take the IGCSE exams in maths and English rather than GCSE, as is the case for most independent schools in the UK.

"These are accepted by universities like any other GCSE but the Government refuses to include them in league tables."

Isle of Wight County Press:

The Island Free School, Ryde School and the Priory School did not submit their results to the government. As schools run independently of the Isle of Wight Council, they were not obliged to.

Executive headteacher and head of Carisbrooke College, Matthew Parr-Burman said: “In amongst the poor set of results there were some really excellent individual results.”

He said the results were not unexpected and admitted: “The children deserve better.”

Mr Parr-Burman said previous recruitment issues and changes at the school, which may have adversely affected the results, had since been resolved.

He added: “We want to be amazing, and there is no reason we can’t get there. We have put in a lot of changes to core subjects and have moved sites.”

Cowes was celebrating the news each student had achieved, on average, a fifth of a GCSE grade better per subject than similar students nationally.

Principal Rachel Kitley said: “We are delighted our students have performed so strongly, demonstrating the outstanding value that we add to our students from when they join us at 11 until they leave at 16 after their GCSEs.

“The significant and well-deserved success which has been achieved is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our students and teachers.

“Today’s results are a further demonstration of the excellence of Cowes Enterprise College.”