Page 18 - Old Ratcliffian Magazine 2017

18 NEWS FROM THE COLLEGE RATCLIFFIAN ASSOCIATION COUNCIL 19

AM I SEEING DOUBLE?!

Snap! Some of Ratcliffe’s eighteen pairs of twins

Teachers at Ratcliffe College could be forgiven for thinking that are sisters, and some are brother and sister pairs.’
they are seeing double – they have what is believed to be the
most twin pupils in the country. At the start of the academic year, However, there is no problem about confusing Jerry and Jimmy
Ratcliffe had no fewer than eighteen pairs of twins on its roll! or Judy and Julie. Wendy said: ‘Our classes are small, and the
teachers get to know their pupils very quickly, whether they are
Wendy Nuttall, the College’s Marketing Manager, said: ‘It first twins or not.’
came to light when our receptionist mentioned that so many
children in our school photographs looked the same as each Ratcliffe currently has almost 850 students on roll, aged from
other – it was really noticeable.’ three to eighteen, including eighteen pairs of twins. The School
definitely has reached twin peaks!
Wendy added that the number of twins also included some
identical siblings. ‘We don’t pick them out thinking that these Adapted from a Leicester Mercury article
are identical and these are fraternal. Some are brothers, some June 13th 2017

RATCLIFFE NAMED AS ONE OF THE TOP CATHOLIC

CO-EDUCATIONAL BOARDING SCHOOLS IN THE UK

This year, the College has enjoyed some of the best public student’s performance between GCSE and A Level. Assessing
examination results in its history, soundly beating the local Ratcliffe’s examination results, using ‘value-added’ measures,
opposition, including Loughborough, Leicester, Uppingham and helps to establish exactly how good these results are, taking into
Oakham, as well as other large Catholic boarding schools, such account the achievement of students prior to commencing their
as Ampleforth and Stonyhurst. A Levels.

With 49% of all of its A Level students obtaining an A or A*, The ‘Value-added’ data identifies whether or not students reach their
Times placed Ratcliffe 61st in their interpretation of academic full potential, and for A Levels, an independent company called
progress at A Level (source: The Times, August 26th 2017). ALPS (www.alps-va.co.uk) measures Ratcliffe’s performance.
Based upon the students’ GCSE grades, the School’s A Level
While many people results have placed Ratcliffe in the top 10% nationally for ‘value-
fixate on league added’ for the last three years. It can, therefore, be said with
tables (where Ratcliffe absolute confidence that most students reach their full potential
continues to perform academically at Ratcliffe College.
strongly in absolute
terms), what really Jon Reddin, the Headmaster, added: ‘This is a fantastic
matters, of course, achievement, and a great reflection on the commitment of our
is how much value a teachers, the support of our governors and parents, and, of
school has added to a course, the work ethic of our students.’

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