STUDENTS at York schools are getting better results at GCSE and A-level according to Government figures.

Provisional 2006 GCSE and post-16 results released by the Department of Education and Skills (DfES) rank York in the top 30 out of 150 local authorities in the country for GCSE results.

City of York Council's education chiefs have welcomed the figures, which show that York schools are continuing to make excellent progress in GCSE and post-16 examinations.

In York at GCSE - the percentage of pupils achieving five or more A*-C grades is 61.9 per cent, an increase of 1.3 per cent compared to 2005 and nearly three percent above the national average.

The average score achieved by York pupils has improved to 365.8 (362 in 2005). The figures also show that 98 per cent of all students in York achieve at least one exam pass.

At A-level - the average point score per student has improved to 296.3 an increase of 6 points from 2005 and nine points above the national average.

Patrick Scott, director of Learning, Culture and Children's Services, at City of York Council, said: "I am delighted with the results of York schools at both GCSE and A-level.

"These are our best ever results and are a tribute to the hard work and dedication of teachers, pupils and staff."

Nationally, the percentage of 15-year-old pupils achieving 5+ A* - C has risen by 1.8 per centage points from 56.3 per cent to 58.1 per cent - the second biggest rise since 97.

More than 350,000 more students gained five good GCSEs over the period 1997-2006 thanks to the improvements made in our schools.

Schools Minister Jim Knight said: "I would like to congratulate school staff, pupils and parents on these excellent results which show improvements across the board. The last few weeks have seen a range of pessimists criticise our schools and teachers, describing even quickly improving schools as failing. "In actual fact, the results show that fewer schools are failing their pupils with a record proportion of children leaving with five good passes including English and maths and more and more children hitting the highest grades."

Last week, The Press reported that youngsters leaving primary schools in York were bucking a national downward trend in primary school test results.

Figures showed children, especially boys, in York were achieving above-average results in their Key Stage 2 tests.

Nationally, concerns have been raised about falling standards in the seven-to-11 age bracket and the Government has indicated that more needs to be done to prepare children for secondary school.

However, results in York are much better than in other parts of the country.