Assessment
Assessment at Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College
Assessment at Blessed Thomas Holford Catholic College is purposeful and carefully designed to check what students know and can do, while placing strong emphasis on supporting progress and improving outcomes for all learners. Assessment for learning is embedded within everyday classroom practice, including during the first and last five minutes of lessons. This allows teachers to identify understanding, address misconceptions promptly and adapt teaching in real time.
Feedback is consistent and meaningful, enabling students to clearly understand their strengths, areas for improvement and the specific steps they need to take to progress further. Centre assessments are aligned closely with taught content and provide accurate data to inform projections and identify priorities. Structured opportunities such as whole-class feedback, exam wrappers and clearly defined next steps ensure students have time to reflect on and act upon feedback.
How Assessment Works at Blessed Thomas Holford
Throughout their academic journey, students complete a range of assessments designed to support learning and measure progress over time.
Formative assessment takes place regularly in lessons and focuses on small or specific areas of the curriculum. These frequent checks allow teachers to gauge understanding, adapt teaching and provide timely feedback.
Summative assessment takes place at key points during the year. Most year groups complete bi-annual summative assessments, while Year 13 students complete three summative assessments across the academic year. These assessments measure long-term retention of knowledge and assess a broad range of curriculum content, skills and understanding.
Following summative assessments, students receive personalised Question Level Analysis (QLA), identifying strengths, areas for development and clear, actionable next steps.
Supporting Students and Families
At the start of the academic year, parents and carers are invited to a Success in Year Evening, designed to support student achievement and success in the year ahead. Students in Year 9 are also invited to an Options Evening to support them through the GCSE options process.
Key Stage 3 Assessment
At Key Stage 3, students are assessed through a combination of formative and summative assessments across all subjects. In addition, students complete the New Group Reading Test (NGRT) by GL Assessment. This standardised, adaptive annual assessment measures reading comprehension and phonics through sentence completion and passage comprehension tasks.
NGRT results provide information such as Standard Age Scores (SAS), allowing staff to identify reading gaps and implement targeted in-class support or specialist intervention with our Reading Intervention Leads where a student’s reading age falls below the expected standard.
Key Stage 3 Progress Reports
Academic progress reports at Key Stage 3 include:
- A summary of progress in each curriculum area
- An attainment level
- A specific next step to support improvement
- A comment on attitude to learning
Key Stage 3 Attainment Levels
- Emerging – The pupil is beginning to learn curriculum content and demonstrates some understanding, with gaps in knowledge and skills.
- Developing – The pupil is learning the majority of the curriculum and shows an adequate understanding, with minor gaps.
- Securing – The pupil shows a good understanding of most curriculum content and is ready for the next key stage.
- Mastering – The pupil demonstrates a strong understanding of curriculum knowledge and skills and is already meeting expectations for the next key stage.
Key Stage 4 Assessment
At Key Stage 4, students complete Centre Assessments that reflect aspects of GCSE examination papers. Following these assessments, parents and carers receive a progress update including:
- A current progress grade (the grade the student is currently working at)
- An estimated grade (the grade the student is expected to achieve by the end of Year 11 if current progress continues)
Grades are calculated using evidence from both formative and summative assessments and are linked to the GCSE numerical grading system. Each grade includes a fine grade indicator:
- a – Very Safe: Almost achieving the grade above; slight improvement would secure it
- b – Mid-Safe: Securely within the grade; with effort could achieve the grade above
- c – Not Safe: At risk of dropping to the grade below
Year 10 Assessment Information
Year 11 Assessment Information
Key Stage 5 Assessment
At Key Stage 5, students complete Centre Assessments aligned with their post-16 courses, including A Levels and BTEC qualifications. After each assessment window, parents and carers receive a progress update outlining:
- A current progress grade
- An estimated grade for the end of Year 13
- Individual grades achieved in summative assessments
These grades are calculated using evidence from both formative and summative assessments.
Grades include a fine grade indicator:
- a – Very Safe
- b – Mid-Safe
- c – Not Safe
Year 12 Assessment Information
Year 13 Assessment Information
Assessment Calendar
The Blessed Thomas Holford Assessment Calendar provides key dates for assessments and reporting throughout the academic year and supports students and families in planning effectively.
| Review Evening | Report | Rev 1 | Rev 2 | Rev 3 | Centre Assessment #1 | Centre Assessment #2 | Centre Assessment #3 | |
| Year 7 | 29th Jan | 26th Jan | 8th June | 5th Jan - 16th Jan | 11th - 22nd May | |||
| Year 8 | 23rd April | 9th Feb | 18th May | 19th Jan-30th Jan | 27th April - 8th May | |||
| Year 9 | 11th/12th Feb (Options and Review Evening) | 24th Nov | 23rd March | 3rd Nov - 14th Nov | 2nd - 13th March | |||
| Year 10 | 4th December | 26th Feb | 9th July | 26th Jan - 6th Feb | 15th June - 26th June | |||
| Year 11 | 27th November | 19th March | 24th Nov | 19th March | 4th November - 14th November | 23rd Feb - 6th March | ||
| Year 12 | 26th Feb | 13th July | 15th Dec | 9th Feb | 13th July | 24th Nov - 5th Dec | 15th June - 2nd July | |
| Year 13 | 22nd Jan | 20th Nov | 4th Nov inc UCAS Grade | 19th Jan | 30th March | 29th Sept - 10th Oct | 8th - 19th Dec | 23rd March - 2nd April |