A SCHOOL in Whitchurch is celebrating achieving top marks following a recent national benchmarking.

Sir John Talbot's School (SJT), in Prees Road, has confirmed they are leading the way in Shropshire for Progress 8.

A school's Progress 8 score is usually between -1 and +1. A score of +1 means that pupils in that school achieve one grade higher in each qualification than other similar pupils nationally.

Meanwhile a score of -1 means they achieve one grade lower. The average Progress 8 score of all secondary schools nationally is 0.

SJT has built on their continued progress over the past three years by achieving their highest score of 0.57 which places them first in Shropshire and in the top 14 per cent of schools across England for achieving well above average.

The school – which joined the Marches Academy Trust in 2014 – has made significant progress in all areas including standards, behaviour as well as results.

Headteacher David O'Toole is pleased with the result.

"I am so proud of all of the students and staff for the effort and hard work," he said.

"This couldn't have been achieved without the full support of parents working so closely with the school.

"We have an exceptional team here at SJT and provide the perfect balance between a pursuit of academic excellence alongside personalised pastoral care.

"I believe this is so important as every student is entitled to a first class education."