SCHOOLS are celebrating the exam successes of pupils with the publication of Government league tables.

According to data published by the Department for Education (DfE) schools and colleges in the area have again performed strongly.

Malton School and Lady Lumley’s, in Pickering, were among several schools which significantly improved their GCSE five A*-C results.

Rob Williams, headteacher at Malton School, said: “Malton School put in a fantastic all-round performance and it is pleasing to note that we are the only local school to have stayed above the national average on every single measure. One of the most important measures of any school is the proportion of students that move on to further education or apprenticeships. Again, I was delighted to see that we had the highest score, with 91 per cent of our Year 11 leavers securing recognised post-16 education or training.”

Phil Loftus, headteacher at Norton College, said: “Performance tables confirm the rapid and sustained progress the college is making. With 67 per cent achieving A*-C, including English and maths, and 90 per cent achieving five A*-C GCSEs, Norton is now consistently one of the highest achieving schools in the area. Significantly, the tables report just how much progress all children make at Norton College.”

Mark McCandless, acting headteacher at Ryedale School, said students had achieved a very strong set of GCSE results once again. “We were particularly pleased that 38 per cent of our students achieved the English Baccalaureate and the average grade per GCSE achieved by the top third of the cohort of students was an A. Our results reflect the high aspirations and expectations we have for our students in all aspects of their schooling.”

Richard Bramley, headteacher at Lady Lumley’s School, said: “The percentage of students who achieved the key measure of 5A* to C at GCSE, including English and mathematics, was 71 per cent, which was a school record and significantly above county and national averages,” he said. “The sixth form results were also excellent, and even more pleasing as we continue to maintain an inclusive entrance policy to our academic sixth form.”

The results for private school Ampleforth College did not register in the league tables.

Ian Lovat, the school’s director of studies, said the DfE did not recognise the international GCSE or IGCSE, which pupils at the school study.

He said: “Although the majority of our students achieved five or more GCSEs grade A*-C, including maths and English, we study IGCSE English at Ampleforth College and the DfE does not count this in the performance tables.”