GCSE results rose dramatically at St. Antony’s Catholic College as pupils at the Urmston faith school proved that ‘hard work brings its own rewards’

Headteacher Fiona Wright said: “Over the last three years the school has undergone a root and branch revision of its teaching and learning and all the hard work of students, staff and parents is now reaping some excellent rewards and validating all the positive outcomes of the recent Ofsted visit.

“We believe the only way is up and we intend to build again and again on this success.”

This year the Attainment 8 rating, which is the government’s benchmark for the average grade, jumped by half a grade.

The number of students getting grade 4 or above in both Maths and English rose by over 10 per cent with the figure for a grade 5 rising by an incredible 38 per cent.

Strong increases were seen across the board, particularly at the very highest levels, with 15 per cent of all grades at 7 or above, formerly A or A* and 49 per cent of all grades at 5 or above and 68 per cent of all grades at 4 or above.

Tyler Bailes, 16, from Old Trafford, achieved the best results in the school with two 9s (A**), five 8s (A*), one 7 (A) and one 6.

He said: “I enjoyed the challenge of working hard for my GCSEs and am pleased not just for myself but for all my friends from St. Antony’s who have also got good results.”

Tyler will be going to Xaverian to study Maths, Chemistry and Biology.