Suffolk has risen 40 places in national league tables for students in the county achieving the standard GCSE pass in English and maths, provisional figures have revealed.

Ipswich Star: Sue CookSue Cook (Image: Archant)

The Department of Education figures – released yesterday – show that 1% more students in Suffolk are achieving the expected standards in English and maths compared with last year’s statistics.

The county’s Progress 8 score remains above national average – and is now number one when compared with authorities of a similar size.

Sue Cook, corporate director for health, wellbeing and children’s services at Suffolk County Council, praised the commitment of the county’s schools.

She said: “These figures are a tribute to the hard work and dedication of schools in our county, which are seeing sustained and continued progress over a number of years.

“The direction of travel for education in Suffolk is leading us to achieve our ‘Raising the Bar’ ambition of ensuring that every child can receive an education that is in the top 25% in the country.”

English and maths GCSEs are now graded from 9 to 1, (previously A to G), with 9 being the highest and 1 being the lowest.

The expected standard for pupils to achieve is now a grade 4 and above (previously a C grade and above), with grade 5 considered a ‘strong pass’.

Suffolk is now in line with national figures with 64% of students in the county achieving the standard pass in English and Maths.

The county is also in the top half of all authorities for achieving the threshold of grade 5 in English and Maths.

The 40-place rise in national league tables for this measure, moves Suffolk to 43 out of 151 authorities.

GCSE progress remains above average and has seen a steep increase this year for Suffolk pupils, with a Progress 8 score of +0.07, compared with the -0.03 national figure.

This figure also puts Suffolk at number one alongside 11 other local authorities with similar geographic and social structures.

The Progress 8 measure looks at how well GCSE students, of all abilities, have progressed since age 11 by comparing them with students who achieved similar levels in Key Stage 2 across the country.