FOUR Huntingdonshire schools - The Ernulf Academy, Hinchingbrooke, St Peter’s and Abbey College - have seen their GCSE exam results improve, with more top marks in the core subjects.

There was a marked improvement in grades at Abbey College in Ramsey where pupils out-performed last year’s exam takers.

Overall, 75 per cent of pupils achieved five A* to Cs, an improvement from 2012’s 70 per cent.

But headteacher Wayne Birks was particularly pleased to report that 59 per cent of pupils had landed five or more A* to Cs, including English and maths, up from 50 per cent 12 months ago. He also highlighted the percentage of youngsters who achieved a C or above in the English Baccalaureate subjects - English, maths, history or geography, the sciences and languages - which doubled from 10 to 20 per cent.

The Ernulf Academy in St Neots is celebrating after pupils achieved the best set of GCSE results in the school’s history.

The proportion of A* to Cs, including English and maths, rose to 40 per cent, an improvement on last year’s 29 per cent.

Overall, the proportion of A* to Cs was 57 per cent, up from 49 per cent in 2012.

Scott Preston, headteacher, said: “The results are a testament to the hard work of the students and their teachers over the past two years.

“We are especially delighted by the significant improvement in mathematics results - 54 per cent of the students achieved an A* to C grade, up from 33 per cent last year. This has been a key focus for us this year, and it is very pleasing to see all of the hard work come to fruition.”

Hinchingbrooke school celebrated its best results since 2009 with 65 per cent of pupils achieving A* to C grades including maths and English – up from 51 per cent last year.

There were also a high number of outstanding performances with 10 pupils gaining at least seven A* grades.

Principal Andrew Goulding said: “Particularly after the dip in results last year we’re very pleased with these results which are a credit to the hard work of the staff, students and the support given by parents.”

St Peter’s School in Huntingdon celebrated an increase in pupils achieving five A* to C grades, including maths and English, moving up from 51 per cent in 2012 to 53 per cent.

The school’s percentage of pupils achieving A* to C dropped when compared with last year’s impressive 93 per cent – with 78 per cent making the grade.

Among those at St Peter’s celebrating was Stan Smith, who achieved seven A*s, two As and one B.

Val Ford, headteacher, said: “We have been so impressed with our students’ positive attitude and commitment to be successful and so many of them have met, or exceeded, their expectations.”