Cockermouth School is celebrating a great ranking in a national schools guide.

The Sunday Times Parent Power guide ranks all schools in the country based on their attainment at GCSE and A Level.

Last year Cockermouth School was ranked 313th but this year it has shot up the chart to 238th.

This places the school number 20 in the top State Secondary Schools in the North West, it is the only county school to feature in the top 20.

A school spokesman said: "For further clarification, we are the fifth highest-performing comprehensive school in the whole of the North West and out of all comprehensive state secondary schools in the country, Cockermouth School is ranked 68th, the highest of any state secondary school in Cumbria."

These statistics come on the back of the school's Key Stage 4 results being in the top 25 per cent in the country and its A Level results in the top 10 per cent nationally for the second year running.

Head teacher Dr Rob Petrie said: "We place high expectations on our students and challenge them to be the very best that they can be.

"I am incredibly proud that, as a truly inclusive comprehensive school, our students have been recognised for their hard work and determination to succeed, and indebted to our dedicated team of staff who are highly skilled, highly qualified, enthusiastic specialists who strive to inspire and instil a passion for learning in our students.

"I am delighted we feature in the guide again this year, placing Cockermouth School in Cumbria firmly on the map."

The 25th edition of Parent Power identified the 2,000 highest-achieving schools in the UK, ranked by their recent examination results.