Students and staff across Walsall are celebrating their best ever GCSE results with a significant improvement of 8.9 per cent among pupils gaining 5 good grades, rising from 50.5 per cent in 2007 to 59.4 per cent now.

Walsall education officials said this makes them the ninth most improved authority in the country.The borough also made significant gains when English and maths are included, with a 5.1 percentage rise to 40.6 per cent.

Leading the improvements are Shelfield Sports and Community College, which became an academy on January 1, with an increase of 26 per cent, Blue Coat CE Performing Arts College (19 per cent), Joseph Leckie Community Technology College (15 per cent), and St Thomas More RC Business and Enterprise College (12 per cent).

Director of Children’s Services, David Brown, said: “We are delighted with the further improvements showing high commitment to making our schools great.”

Wolverhampton Girls High, Wolverhampton Grammar, and Queen Mary’s Grammar and Queen Mary’s High School in Walsall all achieved 100 per cent at five or more top grade GCSEs including English and maths, although Pensnett High in Brierley Hill is ranked 14th from bottom an equivalent pass rate of just 11 per cent.


Key: a = % of school's pupils who achieved % GCSEs at A* to C including Maths and English in 2007; b = % of school's pupils who achieved % GCSEs at A* to C including Maths and English in 2008, c = % of school's pupils who achieved % GCSEs at A* to C in any subjects 2007; d = % of school's pupils who achieved % GCSEs at A* to C in any subject in 2008