A GOVERNMENT department has ranked The Petersfield School as the 11th best school out of 143 similar education establishments in Hampshire for GCSE results.

The Department of Education figures also show that students at the school in Cranford Road are doing better than any other academy or maintained school in the East Hampshire and Havant areas.

Principal at The Petersfield School (TPS), Mark Marande, said: “I am incredibly proud of the class of 2017 who achieved record results through countless hours of hard work and dedication.

“Our staff, governors and parents supported the students superbly as we’ve built a culture of exceptional student outcomes and the highest achievement here at TPS, and these performance tables are a testament to this.”

The ranking is obtained by taking an average of the GCSE results of the 236 TPS pupils who sat their exams earlier this year.

This average is called the Progress Eight Score because it covers the improvement in results from last year in up to eight core subjects.

The Progress Eight score is then compared to the score of other schools.

The result of this complex calculation shows TPS students’ Progress Eight score this year was 0.19, making it one of only 11 schools in the ‘above average’ category in Hampshire.

Only 18 per cent of the schools in England are in the ‘above average’ category.

Mr Marande added: “Our very high Progress Eight score means that students at TPS make significantly more progress than students in other schools both locally and nationally.

“The school is now the highest performing school in both the East Hampshire and Havant districts, and in the whole of Hampshire, TPS is now the 11th highest performing school.”

Bohunt Academy peaked at 19th in the Progress Eight league table, gaining an ‘average’ rating.

The Cowplain School came in 23rd position, and was rated ‘average,’ as was Horndean Technology College at 25th place in the table.

The figures also show that in 2015 – the most recent year for which figures are available – 222 out of 234 TPS pupils leaving the school either got a job or went on to further education.