ORMISTON Rivers Academy is one of the best performing secondary schools in the county according to the latest GCSE league tables.

Data released last week showed the school, in Southminster Road, Burnham, was the 18th highest rated school in Essex when it came to their Attainment 8 score.

Attainment 8 is worked out by turning GCSE grades into numbers with an A* worth eight points, going down to a G grade being worth one.

Each subject is given a weighting with English and Mathematics worth double points. The points are then divided by 10 to create an Attainment 8 score.

Ormiston Rivers Academy scored 50.1 - higher than the national average of 44.6, and the Essex average of 46.7.

Stats also showed that the school was performing “well above average” when it came to their Progress 8 score.

Progress 8 is determined by comparing predicted grades of pupils based on other students of similar ability when they leave primary school and the difference between that number and their actual Attainment 8 score.

A pupil with a Progress 8 score of one will have gained an extra grade per subject compared to their predicted progress.

On average, pupils at Ormiston Rivers performed 0.67 points above their expected achievement, putting the school in the top three per cent in the country for Progress 8 scores.

Headteacher, Joan Costello, was delighted with the results.

She said: “It is excellent news for us.

“The un-validated table released last year put us in a very strong position and we have improved from that which is brilliant.”

Elsewhere, William De Ferrers School, in South Woodham Ferrers, performed as expected.

Their Attainment 8 score was 45.9 and their Progress 8 score was -0.07, which put them slightly below the expected score, but meant they were still classed as “average”.