Secondary school league tables, published last week, showed the Cutsyke Road school was one of the best performers in the county and district thanks to record-breaking GCSE results.

Figures by the Department for Children, Schools and Families revealed that 92 per cent of its pupils achieved five or more GCSE passes at grades A* to C – a 25 per cent increase from 2006.

They also placed the school among the top five per cent of the country for its value added score, which measures the progress a child makes from entering high school at 11 and leaving at 16.

Headteacher John McNally, who has been at the school for two years, said: “These are our best ever results. We’re delighted that our students did so well last year, and I’d like to thank them for their efforts.

“We are very proud of these results, which are just one area of success for this particular group of students who have all gone into further education. They worked extremely hard and were a pleasure to teach.”

Ofsted inspectors rated the school as “outstanding” in several areas and said students enjoyed going to school, were well motivated and keen to learn after a visit in June last year.

Mr McNally added: “We have had a very successful year, and we hope that success will continue.”

Featherstone Technology College saw last year’s record 43 per cent five A*-C pass rate jump to 51 per cent, while Castleford High School’s five A*-C pass figures rose from 56 per cent to 70 per cent.

Pontefract’s The King’s School, Knottingley High School, Airedale High School and Ackworth School’s also improved on their results in last year’s examinations – but the number of pupils gaining five A*-C passes at Pontefract’s Carleton Community High School fell by two per cent to 46 per cent.

The figures showed that 65.5 per cent of pupils in the Wakefield district achieved five A*-C passes – above the national average of 62 per cent.

However, that number fell to 47.5 per cent – 0.2 per cent below the national figure – when passes in maths and English were included.

Pontefract NEW College was the top state provider of post-16 education in West Yorkshire, achieving an average of 865 points per student.

Peter Hillman, principal, said: “I am delighted with this news – putting NEW College once again in the top spot in the region. It is a testament to the hard work of students and staff coupled with the support of parents and families.”