PUPILS and staff at the Colne Community School were celebrating yesterday after achieving its best-ever set of GCSE results.

School league tables published by the Department for Education showed 72% of GCSE students at the Brightlingsea-based school achieved five A* to C grades including English and maths.

The results are a marked improvement compared to five years ago, when the figure was just 49%.

Overall, the school is now ranked 24th in Essex, climbing eight places from the previous year.

Executive principal Nardeep Sharma said he was delighted by the sustained improvements made at the school despite the Government raising the bar and changes in education policy.

“The Colne was always ready to make sure its students did well,” he said. “Sustained improvement is not about quick fixes; it is about a concerted strategy to have a platform for continued growth.

“The students in Year 11 did outstandingly well this year with improvements across the board.”

He added: “We are very excited for all of our exam students in Year 11 through to Year 13 – they have done themselves proud.

“We have an excellent staff team, supported well by governors and parents, and we remain one of the schools that students want to join.

“Exam success is vital especially in this new age of Government budget restraints and volatility in both the job and higher education markets.”

Despite such success at the school, Mr Sharma voiced concerns over the way league tables are composed.