By James Johnson

Last updated at 14:48, Thursday, 24 January 2013

A Cumbrian school is among the top 200 GCSE success stories in the country.

Queen Elizabeth Grammar School (QEGS) in Penrith came 104th for pupils achieving five A* to C grades including English and maths at GCSE level or equivalent.

The figures were revealed in GCSE and A-level performance tables published by the Government today.

A total of 99 per cent at QEGS achieved five A* to C grades, or equivalent, including English and maths. The average points-per-pupil score was 544.8, which meant that only 103 schools nationwide performed better.

It follows the publication of results taken by pupils who sat A-levels, GCSEs, International GCSEs and equivalent qualifications in 2012.

QEGS is a selective school and last year recorded impressive figures for the recently-introduced English Baccalaureate. This trend continued again in 2012, with 89 per cent of pupils achieving the required standard.

The next best in the county was St Bees in west Cumbria, a fee-paying school.

In keeping with previous years, 84 per cent achieved five A* to C grades including English and maths. The figure for five A* to C grades including equivalents and not including maths and English is even higher, at 95 per cent.

Despite the GCSE controversy, Richard Rose Central Academy in Carlisle raised its A-C pass rate for five subjects and English and maths by six percentage points to 37 per cent, while Richard Rose Morton Academy achieved a 31 per cent pass rate.

Austin Friars results slumped, with only 63 per cent of pupils achieving five A* to C grades including English and maths. This number is down from 89 per cent in 2011, 82 per cent in 2010 and 100 per cent in 2009.

Beacon Hill Community School in Aspatria also suffered, with only 31 per cent achieving five A* to C grades.

But the trend was not universal, with Solway Community Technology College recording its best results ever.

Head teacher Lois Baird said: “I was hoping it was going to be good. Some of the pupils came in yesterday to see us.

“We are a very small school and I was proud with the results. We want to make sure that we can get our new cohorts to do the same.”

Both Richard Rose academies were both in the bottom 200 state schools ranked by the percentage of candidates achieving at least five A* to C grades at GCSE, including English and maths.

This does not compare favourably with the Cumbrian average of 56.1 per cent.

First published at 14:46, Thursday, 24 January 2013
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk