WYRE Forest secondary schools have seen an improvement in GCSE results in 2012, according to the latest league tables.

Fifty-six per cent of students achieved five GCSEs at A* to C, including English and maths, compared to 53 per cent in 2011.

The ContinU Trust, a collaboration of Wyre Forest education providers, has claimed that since the controversial Wyre Forest Schools Review, which saw schools in the district move from a three-tier to two-tier system in 2007, every state secondary school has made improvements in GCSE results.

Rob Chadwick, director of ContinU Trust, said: “Schools across the ContinU Trust are delighted at the year-on-year progress reflected not only in the five A* to C including English and maths and post-16 statistics but in the wider achievements of its students, as shown by a series of positive and improving Ofsted inspection reports.

“League table success reflects this expanding success but highly valued also are the unique ways in which schools and Kidderminster College work as a community to ensure all students have the very best of what our local area has to offer.”

The biggest improvements at GCSE were at the independent Holy Trinity School, in Kidderminster, and Wolverley CofE School.

Holy Trinity saw a rise from 71 per cent in 2011 to 90 per cent of students in 2012 gaining five GCSEs at A* to C, including English and maths.

Wolverley School improved to 53 per cent of students in 2012 compared with 36 per cent in 2011 gaining the Government benchmark.

The Bewdley School and Sixth Form Centre saw a rise from 65 per cent in 2011, to 73 per cent gaining five A* to C grades with English and maths.

Headteacher Julie Riley said: “We’ve very pleased. We’ve stuck with our traditional curriculum and we know what we’re doing is working. The improvement at GCSE over the last three years has been two and half times the national rate.”

Sixty-seven per cent of students at Stourport High School and Sixth Form Centre achieved five GCSEs at A* to C, including English and maths, compared to 63 per cent in 2011.

Headteacher Liz Quinn said: “The year-on-year improvement on the key headline figure of five A* to Cs, including English and maths, is something the school is very proud of, as is the added value for students, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, which is against the national trend.”

At Baxter College, 47 per cent of students gained the benchmark compared to 46 per cent in 2011.

The independent Heathfield School saw its GCSE grades drop, with 73 per cent in 2012 compared with 94 per cent of its students in 2011 gaining five GCSEs at A* to C, including English and maths.

King Charles I School saw 50 per cent of its pupils reaching the benchmark compared to 60 per cent in 2011.

English grades at King Charles were said to be affected, as with other schools nationally, by changes in grade boundaries by awarding bodies.