A SCHOOL sixth form is celebrating being one of the country's top performing centres for maths and the cream of the crop for the subject in Cumbria. 

Oxford Analytics Research have shown Ulverston Victoria High to be the 20th best non-selective sixth form in the country for maths.

UVHS maths department are "simply thrilled" to have been recognised by a Department for Education validated body as the top non selective sixth form in Cumbria and Lancashire, and in the top four of the North, for maths. 

The outcome is based on the 2015 A-Levels results. 

UVHS saw 33 per cent of the huge cohort being awarded A* and 74 per cent A or A*. This was double the national figure for all schools including public and grammar schools). 

Sheila Hirst, head of maths at UVHS, has said it is an "awesome achievement" and one the school will be immensely proud of for many years. 

Mrs Hirst puts it down to the "amazing dedication of UVHS’s

team of inspirational A-Level maths teachers and their co-ordinator and mentor Lin McIntosh," but also the fantastic students. 

She said: "The students worked hard for this and the fantastic success for each and every A-Level student means that they were able to reach the highest next steps, from Cambridge University to read natural science, to London to read medicine to Loughborough to read engineering and maths at Lancaster and many more. 

"We at UVHS have loved teaching our students and were so delighted when they achieved such dizzy heights."  

Maths is a very popular choice at UVHS with more than half the sixth form studying maths at A-Level, 130 this year with an additional 36 studying further maths. There are still some places for September to study the subjects.