New figures show a number of secondary schools in Braintree and Witham are still below the national average when it comes to student progress.

Provisional rankings using the Government’s new Attainment 8 and Progress 8 systems were released by the Department for Education last week and show the development pupils have made since leaving primary school.

Maltings Academy in Witham achieved the lowest progress 8 score with -0.44, with Tabor Academy in Braintree closely behind with -0.4.

Maltings Academy had scored -0.39 last year.

Honywood Community School in Coggeshall and Notley High School each scored -0.39.

New Rickstones Academy, in Conrad Road, Witham, and Alec Hunter Academy, in Stubbs Lane, Braintree, were the only two winners from this year's round of figures, with both schools achieving progress 8 scores which were in line with the national average.

New Rickstones achieved the best score of -0.03, while it also scored 44.3 in the attainment 8 category.

Alec Hunter meanwhile got a progress 8 score of -0.14 and the highest attainment 8 rating of 44.9.

Attainment 8 measures the average achievement of pupils in up to eight qualifications including English and maths.

Progress 8 is designed to show the progress a pupil makes from the end of Key Stage Two to the end of Key Stage Four.

Alec Hunter headteacher Trevor Lawn said: "Everyone is very proud of the progress we have made as a school in recent years and this is now being reflected in our results, which are showing a consistent upward trend. The Progress 8 score of -0.14 is a new record, up by 0.26 compared with 2018, and the Attainment 8 figure is up by 1.69.

"I am privileged to lead a very dedicated and loyal group of staff, who willingly give their time to assist our youngsters to produce their best, and we work in close partnership with a very supportive and appreciative parent community.

"However, the greatest credit must go to the students themselves, for buying in to our culture of high expectations and taking on the challenges of these tougher GCSE courses with huge determination."

Damian Lee, head at New Rickstones Academy, which had the lowest progress 8 score last year with -0.54, added: "We are extremely pleased to see such huge improvements which place us as one of the most improved schools in Essex and nationally.

"The results are testament to excellent engagement by students and dedicated staff who both deserve huge congratulations for their efforts.”