National awards for DT department

King's College in Taunton has received four national A Level awards for its design and technology department from The Good Schools Guide. It's been judged not only the best independent school, but the best overall school in the country for A Level design and technology.

As a result of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, The Good Schools Guide was for the first time able to obtain the detailed examination results that lie behind the 2004 performance tables for all English schools and colleges.

As well as raw data, the judges also took into account the popularity of the subject in relation to that in similar schools, the results in that subject relative to the results in the school as a whole, and the numbers of pupils taking the subject. The aim behind the project was to highlight the value that can be added to results through good teaching.

Last year 26 pupils took A Level design and technology at King's, gaining 15 A grades and 8 Bs. 39 pupils took the AS Level, so the future looks bright for this year again.

Head of design and technology at King's, Ian Lundie, said "This is a fantastic achievement for the whole department: staff, pupils and technicians. It's just reward for some tremendously exciting talent, and a lot of really hard work."