PUPILS and teachers in primary schools have been putting St Helens on the map thanks to their outstanding results.

After recording the town’s best ever Key Stage 2 exam figures, St Helens came in second place nationally for the best results out of 152 local authorities, with only Richmond upon Thames pipping us.

The results measure the percentage of pupils achieving Level 4+ in mathematics, the percentage of pupils achieving Level 4+ in English and the percentage of pupils achieving Level 4+ in English and mathematics combined.

Councillor Alison Bacon, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People’s Services said: ‘‘What a great day for St Helens.

“Our primary schools have clearly demonstrated that effective teaching coupled with high aspiration can lead to success and improved life opportunities for all our children.”

Andy Dempsey, Director of Children and Young People’s Services, added: “These results, which surpass even last year’s record-breaking achievements, are testimony to the hard work of pupils and staff in all of our schools.”

Those overall results include many individual success stories too.

In eight schools all pupils achieved Level 4+ in English and mathematics. At Garswood Primary 75% of pupils achieved Level 5 in both subjects, the best results ever recorded in a St Helens school.