HIGH-FLIERS at an East Oxford school are rejoicing after being ranked in the top 10 per cent of achievers in the country.

Oxford Spires Academy has been praised for getting the best out of its pupils, who made "exceptional" progress up until their GCSEs.

The Glanville Road school is set to be handed an Educational Outcomes award by the Schools, Students and Teachers Network (SSAT) at a glittering London ceremony next month.

Principal Sue Croft said: "We are very excited. The students feel immensely proud of their school and themselves. It's really helpful to get such clear feedback about a number of decisions that we have been making and to see that the ideas are effective.

"It gives us independent reassurance that we are getting an awful lot of things right - that the children here in East Oxford can do better by far than others elsewhere. It's about making a difference and giving the students in East Oxford the chance to do really well."

Independent national body SSAT commended the school for the progress students made between their Key Stage 2 and GCSE results.

It combined Department for Education figures with Ofsted data for all state-funded secondary schools across England to identify the top achievers.

Mrs Croft put the academy's success down to "good quality teaching" by staff who work to build strong relationships with their students.

She said her students "want to work hard" and praised her teachers for taking the time to get to know all of their pupils well.

Mrs Croft added: "There is just a really nice relationship with the teacher and the child so everyone enjoys being in the classroom."

The school head said she was now aiming to take the school from a "good" Ofsted rating to "outstanding" over the next year, also working with staff to equip pupils with the skills to work better when away from school.

She added: "We want to continue to be a really inspiring school to work at and for children to learn at. We want to improve independent learning for students to make them truly independent, hungry for learning and skilled to be able to drive their own personal agenda.

"I think we are getting better at doing the things we do well each year. We love our trophy cabinet to be full and I think it's time to break out in all our subjects to win national recognition for our students. That helps them when it comes to job interviews and such like."

Chief executive of SSAT Sue Williamson said: "It’s my great pleasure to commend Oxford Spires Academy on their excellent 2015 performance.

"I hope that SSAT’s Educational Outcomes award will highlight the professionalism, commitment and hard work of the leaders, teachers and students at Oxford Spires Academy."