THREE of Colchester’s top performing schools celebrated a strong set of exam results as students sat public GCSE exams for the first time in three years.

After receiving the strongest set of A level results in the school’s history last week, Colchester County High School for Girls celebrated their best set of GCSE results.

Colchester Royal Grammar School, meanwhile, saw 80 per cent of GCSE results graded at 7 or above, with 40 per cent of exams sat achieving a 9 – the highest possible grade.

The Gilberd School, which is in one of the most competitive locations in England for an outstanding state school, also celebrated excellent grades, but had not released the full sets of data.

Nationally, the percentage of top GCSE grades fell by 2.6 per cent as public exams returned after two years of students’ grades being decided by coursework and teacher assessment.

According to the joint council for qualifications, 26.3 per cent of this year’s GCSE results achieved a grade 7 or above, whereas last year the figure stood at 28.9 per cent.

In 2019, the most recent year when exams were sat publicly, the proportion of GCSE results achieving grade 7 or above was 20.8 per cent.

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Linda Exley, who has been the headteacher at the Gilberd School for over a decade, said the school was proud of the efforts of its students.

She said: “More than ever before, the raw figures hide many stories of students who have struggled with adversity and yet still achieved, or who may not have gained headline grabbing results but have outperformed perhaps even their own expectations.

“We are equally proud of each and every one of these students.”

Headmaster at Colchester Royal Grammar School John Russell said: “Central to [the students’] success is the efforts and determination they have shown through what has been such a turbulent few years.

“Each individual has thrived as they have taken on the challenge of GCSEs, but what is mire important is that they have also been there to support one another.”

At Colchester County High School for Girls, years leader for years 10 and 11 Kath Daniels said: “We are so proud of all the students for their amazing achievements this year, particularly given the additional challenges of the past two years.

“These results have come as a direct result of their continuous efforts and dedication.”