THE new interim head of the Basildon Academies says the Year 11 pupils are on track to get 55 per cent A to C grades in their GCSEs this year, which will be the school’s best ever result.

New official league table show the school, which went into special measures, is the second best performing school in Basildon.

Basildon Academies had a 33 per cent five A* to C pass rate in 2011 and this went up to 45 per cent last year, as predicted by former headteacher Dr Rory Fox.

Bev Bell, who started at the school in November and is set to stay until the summer, said her predecessor had left lots of good procedures and practice in place and she was going forward with his plans.

She said: “We are on track to get 55 per cent in our GCSEs including English and maths this summer and we are more than on track to get those results.

“The children at the academies want to learn and want to do really well. The procedures which have been put in place are very good and we are taking them forward."

The top spot in the town went to De La Salle Catholic School in Basildon after its results rose by an impressive 20 per cent from 34 per cent in 2011 to 54 per cent in 2012.

Basildon’s two other main schools saw a drop in their GCSE results between 2011 and 2012.

James Hornsby School in Laindon, which converted into an academy in September and is in a partnership with King John School in Benfleet, saw results drop from 36 per cent in 2011 to 26 per cent last year.

Woodlands School in Basildon, which is having a £25million rebuild, also saw a drop from 43 per cent in 2011 to 39 per cent in 2012.