College registers improvements from high starting level

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There were 15 secondaries from Yorkshire in a list of the top 200 schools in the country which have all delivered rising pass rates for four consecutive years.

But what makes Tollbar Business and Enterprise College's feat all the more impressive is that it has consistently improved results since 2006 from a high starting pass rate.

Four years ago the Grimsby school saw 66 per cent of pupils achieve five A* to C GCSEs including English and maths – more than double the Government's current benchmark.

League tables published yesterday show this increased to 86 per cent of pupils in last summer's exams. The 20 per cent rise was the fifth highest in the region.

School principal David Hampson said: "It is easy to deliver good results with the capable students but it is much difficult to achieve it with less able pupils.

"Our improvements have been achieved by a lot of hard work. Staff are willing to work extra hours and we have lessons on a Saturday and Sunday mornings focusing on under performing groups."

He added: Employers want students to have five A* to C including English and maths so we focus on the key skills: Maths, English and science, ICT and foreign languages.

"Last year we had 91 per cent of pupils achieving A* to C in maths and 89 per cent achieving it English which gave us 86 per cent of pupils finishing with five good passes including English and maths."

The biggest year-on-year improvements at GCSE since 2006 in Yorkshire was achieved by Morley High, Leeds, which saw results increase from 31 per cent of pupils achieving five A* to C grades in English and maths four years ago to 59 per cent this year – a rise of 28 per cent.

North Doncaster Technology College achieved the region's second biggest improvement in GCSEs.

Four years ago just 14 per cent of pupils achieved the GCSE benchmark. Its latest figures show 41 per cent of pupils made the grade, placing the school more than 10 per cent above the national target.

Leeds also had two of the region's most improved schools with both Crawshaw and Cockburn achieving an increase of 21 per cent of pupils hitting the GCSE target since 2006.