STAFF and pupils at a Teesdale school are celebrating after it was confirmed that they have been placed 100th nationally in terms of the progress made by its students.

Andrew Flint, head teacher of Staindrop School an Academy said he was “delighted” that the progress made by students in Year 11 – from the time they joined the school in Year 7 to the time they left in Summer 2013 - placed the school 100th out of 3,017 nationally.

The confirmation came from the head of education in Co Durham, Caroline O’Neill who congratulated students and staff on achieving these outcomes at a time when schools are adapting to a changing landscape in education policy. A spokesman for the Teesdale school said: “At Staindrop we are keeping pace with government changes in policies by frequently reviewing practices to ensure we are delivering the best education possible for our young people. With the benefit of a highly supportive governing body and innovative leadership we endeavour to ensure that every young person achieves success at Staindrop.

“It is gratifying to know that a relatively small rural school such as Staindrop is delivering an education that places it in the top 100 schools in the country. Furthermore we aim to ensure our students leave Staindrop as mature, confident citizens ready to tackle the challenges that face them after school. Our vision “Maximising success in a strong community” perfectly summarises the ethos of the school. The school performance tables were published earlier this year and are available on the education.gov website. The figures measure the levels of progress students have made from the time they started school to the time they leave.