A HARINGEY school has been named the fourth most improved in London

Charlotte Newton

A HARINGEY school has been named the fourth most improved in London.

Greig City Academy is celebrating after a 66 per cent increase in the number of 13-year-olds reaching expected levels in English, maths and science than in 2004.

Figures from the league table of most improved schools in London also rated the school as the 17th most improved school in England, with 61 per cent of the 127 pupils achieving the expected national curriculum level in English, 65 per cent in maths and 67 per cent in science.

The academy's teachers are now optimistic that the pupils' results will lead to future success when they come to sit their GCSEs.

Headteacher Paul Sutton put the turnaround down to pupils attending extra classes on Saturday mornings and in the holidays.

He said: "I would like to congratulate all concerned for these excellent results. I want to thank students, staff and parents for their hard work both inside and outside the classroom.

"Staff and students have put in extra time attending revision sessions after school and in the holidays and that extra effort has really paid off. Well done."

GCSE results at the academy last year were 26 per cent lower than the national average, with only 21 per cent of pupils achieving five top GCSEs including English and maths.

But the school received one of the highest value-added scores in the country, meaning pupils are performing above expectations.

The value-added score takes into account extenuating circumstances which could affect pupils' overall progress, such as levels of deprivation and whether English is their first language.

"These results for our Year 9 students show that the improvements are across the whole school. Our GCSE results in 2007 were the best-ever and our GCSE contextual value added scores put us in the top five per cent of schools for the progress that our older students make.

"To be named in the list of the top 100 most improved schools two years running is a real achievement and reflects five years of improving results at the school. This shows a sustained improvement in academic standards at the school over a significant period of time," said Mr Sutton.

charlotte.newton@hamhigh.co.uk