Independent Islamic schools in Birmingham top GCSE pile

Independent Islamic schools in Birmingham are proving to be cream of the crop when it comes to GCSE results, new figures have revealed.

As teenagers across Birmingham are due to receive their GCSE results on Thursday, latest Department for Education statistics show that three Muslim schools in the city featured among the top 20 results last summer.

Al-Burhan Grammar School, run from Spring Road Centre in Acocks Green, had 100 per cent of its pupils attaining at least five GCSEs grades A*-C including maths and English.

Its website describes itself as an independent school offering an "Islamic environment" for girls aged 11 to 16.

Headteacher Dr Mohammad Nasrullah said: "At Al-Burhan Grammar School for Girls we strive to equip our students with the knowledge, the skills and the values which will serve them best as individuals throughout their life in this world and in the hereafter.

"We do this by offering a traditional grammar school education, supported by impressive computer technology, delivered in an Islamic environment."

And Al-Furqan Community College in Tyseley, which is also for Muslim girls, came second in the league table.

The independent school last year saw all of its pupils gaining at least five GCSEs at grades A*-C including maths and English - a staggering 27 per cent increase compared to 2013 when 73 per cent of pupils achieved the same benchmark standard.

Meanwhile, coming 14th on the list of top schools was Darul Uloom Islamic High School in Small Heath where 81 per cent of its pupils achieved at least five GCSEs at grades A*-C including maths and English.

The school describes itself as being "specialised", providing a "balance of traditional Islamic education and national curriculum subjects".

The school, set up 30 years ago, says it "aims for students to enjoy learning, achieve high standards in both Islamic and national curriculum subjects, to achieve and exceed individual potential and to build confidence within students to become valuable and active members of the community at large".

Last year, Birmingham schools performed better than the national average, with 55.9 per cent of pupils achieving at least five GCSEs at grades A*-C including maths and English compared to 53.4 per cent across England.

The King Edward VI chain of state grammar schools proved to be an unstoppable force, with five being placed in the city's top 20.

Birmingham's top 20 schools for GCSE results in 2013/14 with its percentage achieving five or more A*-C grades (or equivalent) including English and maths

1. Al-Burhan Grammar School, 100 per cent

2. Al-Furqan Community College, 100 per cent

3. Edgbaston High School for Girls, 100 per cent

4. King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys, 100 per cent

5. King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls, 100 per cent

6. King Edward VI Five Ways School, 100 per cent

7. King Edward VI Handsworth School, 99 per cent

8. Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls, 99 per cent

9. Bishop Vesey's Grammar School, 97 per cent

10. King Edward VI Aston School, 96 per cent

11. Handsworth Grammar School, 92 per cent

12. Highclare School, 89 per cent