Staff and pupils have been given top marks in a letter from schools minister Nick Gibb.
Darwen Vale High School was sent a letter of congratulations from the minister after being named as one of the country’s top performing schools for sustained improvement between 2008 and 2011.
Headteacher Fiona Jack said: “This demonstrates that the challenge of moving to temporary accommodation at Holden Fold and additional travel for our students have not affected our performance and on-going achievement.
“I hope that everyone will continue to support us as we look forward to an even brighter new future as we prepare to return to our state-of-the-art new school buildings at Earcroft.
“This is down to the commitment and hard work of both staff and pupils. We offer high quality teaching and focus on addressing the gaps in children’s knowledge and making sure they know what they have to do to improve. We are very positive and very proud of this achievement.”
The school’s head boy, Justin Chappell, 16, added: “I am proud to be a pupil at Darwen Vale. As a Year 11, I really appreciate everything my parents and teachers do for me and it’s good to see that this is recognised at such a high level.
“Pupils at our school know that their progress is a top priority so I’m not surprised we’re doing so well.”
This year 57% of pupils achieved five A* to C grades including English and maths compared with 34% back in 2008. The number of pupils gaining five A*to C figures also improved from 53% in 2008 to 85% in 2011.