ONLY just over half of Suffolk pupils are achieving the target GCSE results, new figures have shown.

Results issued by the Government today show that just 51.7 per cent of pupils in the county’s schools were awarded five or more GCSEs at A* to C grade, including English and maths, last year.

Neighbouring Norfolk saw 52.3 per cent make the grade while in Essex 54.6 per cent achieved the marks.

Although Suffolk’s figure is up from the 49 per cent in 2008/9, it leaves the county ranked 112th out of 152 local authorities.

By the time pupils are taking their A-Levels things look a little better, with Suffolk pupils amassing an average of 745.6 points from their courses.

That figure is still below Essex’s 765.3 points average, but above Norfolk’s 721.2.

The best performing schools in Suffolk at GCSE level were Ipswich High School, Framlingham College, Thomas Mills High School in Woodbridge and Debenham High School.

See tomorrow’s paper for the full results for Suffolk and Essex and to find out how your school is performing.