A HEADTEACHER has spoken of her “immense pride” in her pupils after being notified that her North-East school has beaten every other state secondary in England in terms of improved exam results.

Linda Davids, head of Parkside Academy in Willington, County Durham, said: “We are immensely proud of our pupils’ hard work and the expertise of the staff here at Parkside. Together, through commitment and determination, they have achieved more success than any other school in the country”.

Their 2013 GCSE exam results placed them number one out of over 3,000 secondary schools for the value they add to pupils’ best eight subjects when they left school last summer, from their starting point in Year 7 when they started their studies at Parkside Academy.

Representatives from the school have been invited to attend a regional celebration ceremony hosted by national schools' membership organisation SSAT in Gateshead on June 6.

In 2011, Parkside Academy was judged to be ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted as well as becoming the most improved school in County Durham and in the top one per cent of schools nationally for GCSE results.

A recent in-depth analysis of official Department for Education data by SSAT identified Parkside Academy’s success.

It means the school has qualified for an SSAT Educational Outcomes Award by being the top school nationally for the progress made by its pupils.

Sue Williamson, chief executive of SSAT said: “Parkside Academy should be congratulated for their exceptional achievement. They have proved themselves to be leading the field in improving GCSE outcomes for their students.”