A SCHOOL in Chelmsford has been rated the best in its area following the release of a new schools rating guide.

The Times’ Parent Power guide 2018 has rated St. Anne’s School in New London Road at the top of the tree in Chelmsford in its new list.

The school also rated 13 in the entire country, out of 500 schools that were included in the new rankings.

The Times have been printing the list for past 25 years.

Fiona Pirrie, headteacher at St Anne’s School, was very proud to receive the news that her pupils had achieved so much and that the school had been named as the best in the area.

She said: “We’re are delighted to find our school placed 13 in the top 100 Independent Preparatory Schools in England for 2017.

“This is an increase of six places since last year, making us top in Chelmsford.

“We are always looking for ways of improving our teaching and engaging the children in their own learning.

“It has obviously paid off.”

Mrs Pirrie is hopeful that the result is a sign that the school will continue to climb the rankings, and she hopes the school will also remain top in the area.

“I believe our success is down firstly to our hard working and dedicated teachers who work as a team to challenge and inspire each child to reach their potential.

“Secondly, to the children themselves, who put so much effort into their work and persevere in rising to challenges set.

“A great result for St. Anne’s and one we hope to improve on in the years ahead.”

The school in New London Road managed to achieve an incredibly high rating in this year’s rankings, moving just shy of the top ten in the country.

St Anne’s high ranking has come after the school achieved excellent key stage two Sats results.

A total of 14,930 schools across the UK took that Sats last year.

The results of the list showed that London was not the only area of the country that took up the top ten spots.

A comment from the supplement, said: “25 years after it was first published, Parent Power shows yet again that primary schools in England can produce brilliant results no matter where they are.

“And no matter what methodology is used to rank them.

“In this year of change, London schools are prominent, but others in Gateshead and Penzance make the top 10, too.

“Last year a school in Sale, Greater Manchester, came second. Nowhere has a monopoly on excellence.”

The listing created by The Times is based on the results of key stage two Sats in 2016.

The results showed that St Stephen’s School in East Ham, London, just ahead of John Hellins in Northamptonshire were the top performing school in the entire country.