Secondary school league tables: Wolverhampton jumps 18 places

The number of pupils in Wolverhampton gaining five or more good GCSEs has risen over the past year, according to figures out today.

Across the city, 51.6 per cent per cent of pupils gained the Government's benchmark of five or more GCSEs at A* to C, including English and maths. The figures see Wolverhampton rise 18 places in the national tables to 127th out of 152 local authorities.

Last year, 46.4 per cent of pupils gained the benchmark grades. The city continued to perform strongly in vocational subjects, coming third in the country with an average points score of 740.4.

But the new Department for Education (DfE) figures show the city slipped 10 places down the table for A-level results, with students achieving an average score of 748.6 points.

Click here to download the full local league tables

Meanwhile, leaders at The King's CofE School have criticised the tables, which place the school in 18th position in the city.

The DfE figures say only 31 per cent of pupils at King's achieved the benchmark grades, which principal John Allin describes as 'an anomaly'.

He said the school's low position is due to an English exam taken by around 50 pupils not counting towards the final placing.

"Many of our children took separate English and English Literature exams. The first exam included the language element and has not been included as far as the tables are concerned," he said.

"This make it look as though the school has done far worse than it actually has. In reality, our English results went up markedly last year."

Celebrating at Wolverhampton Girls School are Mylan Rai, Preya Jandu, Ridha Ahmed, Victoria Forbes-Ritte, Amrit Sandhu, and Marie Pitt

Results dropped at Moreton School, which was at the centre of two investigations into alleged exam malpractice during last year's GCSEs. The school saw 35 per cent of pupils gaining five or more GCSEs at A* to C, including English and maths. Last year the figure was 38 per cent.

Wolverhampton Girls High and Wolverhampton Grammar School once again vied for top spot. Both schools saw 99 per cent of pupils gaining five or more A* to C grades at GCSE, including English and maths.

The Girls High came out on top by virtue of having 17 more pupils taking exams. Headteacher Trudi Young said she was delighted with the results.

Moseley Park School was third in the rankings on 79 per cent, a three per cent jump on the previous year.

Highfields School in Boundary Way, Penn, saw a nine per cent improvement in performance, with 73 per cent of pupils scoring benchmark grades.

North East Wolverhampton Academy came down in 17th position, with just 32 per cent of pupils five or more GCSEs at A* to C, including English and maths.