A SCHOOL in Calne has made it to the top of a prestigious Sunday Times list for its amazing exam results.

St Mary's has been recognised as the number one independent secondary school in the Southwest for its GCSE and A-Level results.

This result was revealed by Parent Power, The Sunday Times Schools Guide 2018, published in The Sunday Times last Sunday (November 26).

Parent Power identifies the 2,000 highest-achieving secondary schools in the UK, ranked by this year's examination results, and St Mary's are very pleased to come out on top in the Southwest.

Dr Felicia Kirk, headteacher at St Mary's, said: “I’m very proud of everything that the girls here at St Mary’s Calne achieve, with the support of their friends and families and our hugely professional staff.

"Exam results are very important of course, and it’s great to have this recognition.

"I’ll be delighted if it encourages even more families to come and see what makes this such a special school inside and outside the classroom.”

The position of each school is determined by the percentage of A* to B grades at A-Level, and the percentage of A* to A grades at GCSE.

The new grading system for English and Maths at GCSE means that 9 and 8 are treated as equivalent to an A*, and grade 7 is equivalent to an A.

St Mary's achieved 93 per cent of A-Levels graded A* to B, and 86 per cent of GCSEs graded A* to A.

Out of the 2,000 schools listed, it placed 35th nationally.

Malmesbury School is also delighted to have placed 18th in the list of the top state secondary schools in the South West.

Headteacher Tim Gilson, said: "We are delighted to be recognised as one of only three comprehensive schools in the South West Top 20 schools in the Sunday Times.

"Our consistently excellent examination results are due to the hard work and skill of our staff, and the determination and effort of our students."