Secondary schools in Falmouth, Penryn, Helston and Mullion have all held their own in league tables published this week.

Helston Community College performed particularly strongly, with headteacher Dr Pat McGovern saying that while the school was ranked eighth overall in the county for the percentage of GCSE pupils achieving five A* to C grades including English and maths (62 per cent), in a list including private schools, it was actually fourth in terms of maintained schools.

The sixth form also performed well and was placed 12th overall in the county. With 420 students, this made it one of the biggest school-based sixth forms in the south west.

“We were very, very pleased. An awful lot of hard work has gone in to managing post 16 provision,” added Dr McGovern.

Particularly pleasing was the record number of A-level students that had gone to university, despite the rise in tuition fees.

On the nearby Lizard Peninsula, Mullion School was published 20th in the county overall for GCSEs, with 57 per cent of students achieving five or more A* to C grades, including English and maths.

Headteacher Mike Sandford said: “Overall we're quite happy with them. The results are pretty much in line with what our expectations were.”

He added that the school was particularly pleased with the levels of progress that the students made in English and maths.

“This is really good and shows that the children achieved their potential and did well,” he said.

In Falmouth, Sandra Critchley, headteacher at Falmouth School, said the school was pleased with the progress GCSE and A-level students had made over their time with the school, adding that both were in line with the school's expectations.

The school was ranked 25th for GCSEs, with 55 per cent of students getting the grades in five of more subjects, including the two core ones, and 15th for A-levels.

Mrs Critchley said: “We're pleased with the position in the league tables and are continuing to work hard to make sure that our students continue to make as good, if not better, progress.”

Tamsin Schouten, deputy headteacher at Penryn College, said: “We're delighted that the tables highlight the good progress the children have made across the board and all their hard work has paid off.”

Penryn College came 15th in the county overall, with 59 per cent of students achieving the five or more subjects (including English and maths).