PUPILS at Manor CE Academy have been successful in the early entry GCSE examinations for maths and English.

It is the first time Manor has entered students early for the two important exams. About 89 per cent of the students gained A*-C grades in English and 99 per cent achieved A*-D.

With some D graded candidates close to the boundary, remarks are expected. Most of Year 11 took part in the early entry for English.

Manor’s principal, Brian Crosby, said maths was a more complicated picture as the early entry paper was at foundation level only where a C is the top grade available, but 35 pupils gained grade C.

Mr Crosby said: “These are fantastic achievements. It was a risk, but a calculated risk and we are now set to achieve best-ever results for the summer. We will be working closely over the next few months with the students who didn’t quite make it to grade C or above, to try and get them to the next level. It has been a very positive experience for them.”

Tom Candlin, head of Year 11, told pupils they had surpassed the already high expectations the academy had of them.

Mr Crosby said the academy pressed ahead despite the Government changing the rules so that only the first set of results would be recorded in league tables.

He said: “Our young people have the chance to take GCSEs again in the summer when they can improve on their grades but, as a school, only the first set of results count for the official figures.

"That is why we took a risk but it has worked out very well. We are all very, very pleased with the results. The young people have worked very hard and deserve their success.”