SCHOOLS in Bury are top of the class when it comes to getting the best out of their pupils.

Schoolchildren being taught in the borough are more likely to achieve the grade they are capable of than their peers living elsewhere in the North West and also the rest of the country.

Figures released by the Government’s department for children, schools and families show how many children make the expected progress between key stage two (ages seven to 11) and key stage four (ages 14 to 16).

In Bury, the highest number of children — 76.3 per cent — in the 10 Greater Manchester authorities made the expected progress in English.

The region’s average was 63.8 per cent and 65.5 per cent nationally.

In maths, it was placed second within the 10 authorities, having 64.7 per cent of pupils making the grade.

The North West average is 55.5 per cent and 58.7 per cent nationally.

Girls outperformed boys in English by eight percentage points and, in maths, boys outperformed girls 1.1 by percentage points.

Ian Chambers, assistant director (learning) at Bury Council, said: “Following the good improvement in 5 A* to C including English and mathematics passes by Bury’s high schools in 2009, the Government has just released national figures that show that the progress that pupils make through their secondary school career in Bury is also good.

“These figures are a tribute to the hard work put in by the pupils and their English and mathematics teachers throughout their high school career and the good support the teachers receive from the council's secondary school consultant team.”