TWO local state secondary schools have been rated among the best in the North of England.

The rankings in Parent Power, The Sunday Times Schools Guide 2018, placed York’s Fulford School and Tadcaster Grammar School at eight and nine respectively in the top ten state secondary schools in Northern England.

Meanwhile, Queen Ethelburga’s College in York topped the independent secondary school rankings for the North.

York’s St Peter’s School has been named the third best performing independent school, The Mount School is ranked the sixth best, Queen Margaret’s School ninth, and Bootham School tenth.

The secondary school rankings are determined by the percentage of examination entries gaining A* to B grades at A-level this summer and the percentage of entries returning A* and A grades at GCSE.

Lorna Savage, headteacher at Fulford School, has welcomed the league table result.

She said: “We are obviously delighted to have our success recognised.

“It is a pattern of success in recent years. I would like to pay particular tribute to the fantastic efforts of the staff at the school. These results are not accidental. Staff have gone the extra mile.

“I would also like to congratulate students for the effort they have put in to achieve the results. It’s brilliant to recognise attainment at the highest level but it’s also important to celebrate the hard work and success of all our students.”

Tadcaster Grammar headteacher Martyn Sibley added: “I am absolutely delighted to hear this news.

“To finish ninth in the list of top state secondary schools in the North of England is a great accolade and a true reflection of a huge amount of hard work from both our students and incredibly committed teachers and associate staff.”

Steven Jandrell , principal at Queen Ethelburga’s, commented: "We are naturally delighted that the achievements of our students are being recognised in this way.

"It is a fitting tribute to the level of focus and conscientiousness that they show during the year and the outstanding support that they get from all of the staff at Queen Ethelburga’s."

Ripon Grammar School is the top performing state secondary school in the North of England.

Parent Power identifies the 2,000 highest-achieving schools in the UK.

A fully searchable database by school name, local authority, town and postcode, together with new regional rankings are available to Times and Sunday Times subscribers at: thesundaytimes.co.uk/parentpower