Several of the district’s secondary schools are celebrating being named as some of the country’s top performing non-selective state schools.

Staff, governors and pupils at Beaumont, Sandringham, St Albans Girls Schools and St George’s and Roundwood Park Schools in Harpenden were all congratulated in a letter addressed by Schools MP David Laws.

It comes after the impressive percentage of the schools’ pupils achieving five or more A*-C grades at GCSEs, or equivalent, including English and Maths.

Head teacher of Beaumont School, Elizabeth Hitch, said: “We are delighted to be named but we are also delighted on behalf of all the other schools in the local area.

“The families in St Albans are so very fortunate to have so many brilliant schools to choose from.”

The letter refers to the schools “hard work and success” and extends its thanks to the “leadership teams for continuing (their) drive towards the highest standards of educational achievement”.

Head teacher of Sandringham School, Alan Gray, said: “For us it is the third year running that we have been named, so I am delighted about it.

“It is about consistency on an ongoing basis and the brilliant effort of our teachers doing their work really well and the pupils rising to the hard challenges we set them.”

He also praised the Government’s initiatives of writing to schools and recognising the “hard work they put in.”

Head teacher of St Albans Girls School, Margaret Chapman, said: “We are absolutely delighted with the continued outstanding successes of our students.

“It is a tribute to their hard work and dedication that their performance shines through. This would not be possible without the consistently high quality of teaching and learning and support from parents and the whole school community.”