AN academy is celebrating the remarkable progress made by its students in new government GCSE figures.

Rankings released by the Department for Education on Wednesday are the first to use the government's new Attainment 8 and Progress 8 systems, which aim to show the development students have made since leaving primary school.

Attainment 8 is worked out by turning GCSE grades into numbers with an A* worth eight points and a G grade being worth one.

Each subject is given a weighting with English and mathematics worth double points, together with the three best grades a pupil has achieved in sciences, languages, geography or history, and then the three best grades in other approved academic or vocational subjects in the curriculum.

The point are then divided by 10 to create the Attainment 8 score.

Progress 8 compares predicted grades of pupils based on other students of similar ability when leaving primary school and the difference between that number and their actual Attainment 8 score.

New Rickstones Academy, in Witham, got the best score in the district, with a Progress 8 total of 0.27.

The school also achieved a 55% pass rate for Mathematics and English and an Attainment 8 score of 46.2.

Headteacher Damian Lee said: "We are pleased and it is a testament to the hard work of the students and the staff.

"For me the Progress 8 score is good but there is lots of other ways of measuring the school.

"The most important to me is student happiness and if they are happy then they are tuned in to learning.

"Exam results are important and we are delighted with the figures but it is about creating well rounded individuals who can contribute to the community."

The academy's partner school Maltings Academy also did well with a positive Progress 8 score of 0.04, but with a huge 68% of pupils achieving an A* to C in maths and English.

Alec Hunter Academy, Braintree, got a negative Progress 8 rating of -0.31, meaning the average students went back by almost a third of a grade whilst studying at the school.

However the academy's Attainment 8 score was 47.3 and students did well in English and maths figures.

Headteacher Trevor Lawn said that the Progress 8 figures are flawed as they still included students who were unable to sit their exams.

He said: "We gave a high priority to the core subjects of English and maths, both crucial to students’ life chances, resulting in a record outcome for the school, with 57% of our youngsters gaining a C or better in both subjects, a rise of 7% on the previous year.

"We recognise that our Progress 8 figure is below that achieved by some other schools and we are working very hard to address this.

"We continue to strive to give every individual in our school the best opportunities to fulfil their potential and our staff work tirelessly with this aim in mind."

Notley High School faired much better with a Progress 8 score of -0.11 and Attainment 8 score of 50.4.

Braintree Sixth Form results were also impressive with the highest average points score in the district of 26.40.

Tabor Academy had a negative Progress 8 rating of -0.34, the second lowest in the area, however 57% of students made the English and maths targets.