Essex County Council is congratulating thousands of Essex pupils who collected their GCSE results today.

Just under 15,000 young people were entered for GCSEs at secondary schools in the county this year.

Results show that about 58.7 per cent achieved 5 or more A* to C grades including English and maths, compared with 56.5 per cent last year – a 2.2 percentage point increase.

For pupils achieving 5 or more A* to C grades at GCSE including English and maths, early indications show that over 40 schools saw an increase in their overall results.

Cllr Ray Gooding, Essex County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and Lifelong Learning, said: “Congratulations to all pupils who have received their GCSEs today.

“These excellent results are the culmination of a lot of hard work and I am thrilled the efforts of the county’s pupils have been rewarded. I wish them all the very best of luck for the future, whatever their plans and ambitions.

“I would also like to extend my congratulations to the county’s schools for their continued dedication to giving pupils the best possible education.

"We are confident of seeing another big rise in the percentage rated as good or outstanding when the latest Ofsted data becomes available.”