SCHOOLS and education chiefs in York are celebrating the exam successes of pupils with the publication of Government league tables.

According to data published by the Department of Education (DoE) yesterday, schools and colleges in York, North and East Yorkshire have again performed strongly.

Among those celebrating top results are pupils at York’s Fulford School.

It was the top-performing state school in the city at GCSE, with 80 per cent of pupils getting five or more A*-C grades including English and maths.

Head teacher Lorna Savage said: “Our results days were a real cause for celebration both at GCSE and A-level.

“We were all delighted by the success and achievements of our students and the number of our sixth form gaining their first choice of university or meeting their grade offers for employment.”

Across the city the percentage of pupils gaining five or more A*–C grades at GCSE including English and maths at York schools was 67 per cent, well above the national average of 59.2 per cent.

The results put the city 15th out of 151 local authorities nationally and in the top ten per cent.

In North Yorkshire at GCSE, more than 65 per cent of pupils achieved five A*-C results including English and maths for the second consecutive year, meaning the authority came 29th out of 151 local authorities.

Several North Yorkshire schools significantly improved their GCSE five A*-C results including English and maths, including Malton School; King James, Knaresborough; and Lady Lumley’s, Pickering.

Coun Arthur Barker, North Yorkshire County Council’s executive member for schools, said: “The figures show that the county’s schools prepare our young people very well for their next steps into training or further and higher education.”

In East Yorkshire results showed that the record results for students achieving the “gold standard” at GCSE pushed the county’s ranking up by 27 places to 71st place, out of 151 areas across the country.

This year East Riding Council schools achieved an average of 61 per cent of the top grades including English and maths, the county’s best performance.

Coun Julie Abraham, East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s portfolio holder for education, said: “It is excellent news that the performance of our schools has moved the East Riding up the rankings when compared with other authorities.

“But what is important is the quality of the education and the progress that individual pupils have made.

“These tables should reinforce the confidence that parents have in our schools and the standard of the provision for their children.”

• THE results for North Yorkshire private school Ampleforth College did not register in the league tables. Ian Lovat, the school’s director of studies, explained that the Department of Education (DoE) did not recognise the international GCSE or IGCSE, which pupils at the schoool study.

He said: “Although the majority of our students achieved five or more GCSEs grade A*-C, including maths and English, we study IGCSE English at Ampleforth College and the DoE does not count this in the performance tables.”