Sixth of the best improved schools

IT’S official. Royton and Crompton is the country’s sixth most improved school according to a new league table.

It has earned the impressive ranking in the GCSE figures complied by the Guardian.

These list schools with the biggest improvement in the percentage of pupils gaining the Government’s gold standard of least five A* to C grades, including English and maths.

Royton and Crompton School’s results have soared from 37 per cent in 2007 to 59 per cent last year.

In 2005 it was the third most improved school in the country under the old measure of five top grades, excluding English and maths.

Delighted headteacher Desmond Herlihy said: “We are very pleased for our pupils and their families. Results like this provide excellent opportunities for the future.

“We work in a highly systematic way over the five years pupils are with us, building up their knowledge, skills and determination to succeed. Staff and pupils are to be congratulated and we thank the governors for their support.

“These results match the findings of our Ofsted report in November 2008 in which the school was graded as ‘good in all aspects’.”

Royton and Crompton School, in Blackshaw Lane, Oldham, is designated a specialist science college with around 1,200 pupils and 80 teachers.