Only two Huntingdonshire schools beat the national average GCSE performance in last year’s exams.

Figures revealed by the Department for Education (DfE) showed that Hinchingbrooke School, where 65 per cent of students gained five or more A* to Cs including English and maths, and Kimbolton School (91 per cent) achieved higher than the national average of 60.6 per cent.

Swavesey Village College, attended by many students from the east of the district, was the highest achieving state school in the area with an 80 per cent success rate.

Abbey College, Ramsey, Ernulf Academy, Kimbolton School, St Peter’s School, Huntingdon, and Hinchingbrooke School all improved on last year’s figures, while St Ivo, Longsands Academy, and Sawtry Community School saw results dip.

None of Huntingdonshire’s secondary schools scored above the national average for value added – a measure of the progress students make between different stages of education.

Ernulf Academy had the poorest student attendance record in the last school year, with an absence rate of 8.1 per cent. The school’s persistent absence rate – students who miss more than 15 per cent of lessons, equivalent to a month off school – was 14.3 per cent, more than double the national average for state schools.

St Peter’s and Sawtry also had higher than average absence rates for state schools, while Hinchingbrooke School matched the 5.8 per cent national average.

Only St Ivo (216) and Kimbolton (247.5) beat the national average A-level average point score of 211.3. Ernulf, at 180.4, had the lowest average point score per A-level student in Huntingdonshire and was ranked 31 out of 53 A-level centres.

Lee Walker, vice principal for achievement at Hinchingbrooke School, told The Hunts Post: “We are very pleased with our position in the league table, particularly in that we have made good progress compared to other similar schools nationally.

He added: “We recognise further inprovements need to be made.

“We are working on this by having a full programme of support for our current Key Stage 4 students. We have restructured our departments focused on attainment and, with parents, we have a very well-attended exam evening, as well as building on the home and school link to further potential.”