A school in Luton has been praised by the Minister of State for Schools.
Lealands High School received a letter from David Laws MP to congratulate them on being one of the top 100 most improved schools in the country.
Schools in England showing the greatest sustained improvement in the percentage of pupils achieving five or more A* - C grade GCSEs, including English and maths, received the accolade.
Headteacher John Burridge said, “Everyone has been working extremely hard, our standards have risen in all aspects and we now have a fantastic school. I am pleased the government have recognized the importance of sustained school improvement in this letter.
“Our results are based on rigorous traditional GCSEs and this letter acknowledges the sustained nature of our improvements which come from sheer hard work. We have lots to celebrate as we continue on our journey of excellence together as a school”.
In its latest Ofsted inspection in May last year, the school was given an “outstanding” rating for its behaviour and safety and judged at least “good” in all other areas.
A month later, the school celebrated completion of a £17.5m refurbishment. In August, following the previous year’s national debacle around results in English which affected the school, Lealands was back at the top with 75 per cent achieving A*-C in English.
David Laws MP said in his letter: “The results are a shining testament to the hard work and success of your staff, governors and pupils. I would like to offer my thanks to you and all at your school for your pursuit of the highest standards of educational achievement.”
The Department for Education performance tables for 2013 showed 78 per cent of Lealands students are making expected progress in English and 66 per cent in maths.
The average achievement at five or more A*-C grades including English and maths over last three years is 59% which is above the three year national average.