Students in our region’s schools had reason to give themselves a pat on the back today, after GCSE results tables revealed that the county’s cleverclogs are performing above the average level.

Almost 60 per cent of pupils in the county’s schools reached the government target - nearly two per cent above the national average.

Cambridgeshire also improved its score from 2014, after leaping from 55.9 per cent to 58.8 - the highest score in East Anglia.

However, it wasn’t all smiles for schools in the area, as it was revealed that only 35 per cent of Ely College’s pupils were achieving the ‘gold standard’ of GCSE results - a figure low enough to label the college as ‘underachieving.’

Half of Witchford Village College’s pupils secured five A* to C’s - an impressive 13 per cent increase from the previous year, and Cottenham Village College experienced its most successful year for three years, after achieving 69 per cent.

Soham Village College’s pupils also shone and improved by 10 per cent - with 68 per cent of the school’s youngsters bagging top grades.

Bottisham Village College breached the 70 per cent mark after scoring 71, but Ely College’s troubled year was reflected in its score – a fall of four per cent from 39 to 35, which means it is among the worst-performing 10 per cent in the country.

Private school King’s Ely was the region’s top scorer, with 80 per cent of its pupils achieving A* to C in its summer 2015 examinations; a nine per cent increase from the previous year.

Schools across the country have been judged on the basis of GCSE results for the last time, as from next year they will be measured on a larger range of results, spanning across eight subjects.