Telford and Wrekin’s secondary schools are among the most rapidly improving in the country, today’s new GCSE league tables have confirmed.

(Scroll down to see the full results table)

And Shropshire Council-run schools recorded their best ever GCSE and A-level results in the summer, the performance tables show.

The latest results, by which Telford and Wrekin’s performance is measured, show the borough’s figures are above the national average for the first time.

A total of 55.9 per cent of borough pupils achieved five or more A*-C grades including English and maths in 2010 – showing an eight per cent improvement on the previous year.

Additionally, more than 99 per cent of all students in Telford and Wrekin achiev-ed passes at GCSE, which is better than the national average.

All secondary schools in the borough have either maintained very high pass rates or have significantly increased their figure from their results in 2009.

Councillor Stephen Burrell, cabinet member for children and young people at Telford & Wrekin Council, said: “This shows the continued hard work of all staff, governors, parents, carers and students in schools and everyone is to be congratulated on what is an excellent achievement.”

In the Shropshire Council education area, today’s figures reveal that students’ overall grades are improving year-on-year.

The tables show that in 2010, at Key Stage 4 (GCSE and equivalent) 72.6 per cent of students achieved five or more A* to C grades, compared to 72.4 per cent in 2009.

The percentage of students who achieved five or more A* to C grades including English and maths was 57.8 per cent, a rise of 1.2 per cent since 2009. This ranks Shropshire in the top three local authorities in the West Midlands.

Key Stage 5 (A-level) ta-bles show that attainment in Shropshire Council school sixth forms has improved over that in 2009 and is above the national average in the two key indicators

The Blessed Robert Johnson Catholic College at Wellington has been rated one of the “most improved” schools in England.

It is listed in the 200 most improved state secondaries, according to the proportion of GCSE students gaining five or more A*-C grades, including England and maths.

By Dave Morris