A GRAMMAR school has been named secondary school of the decade in East Anglia in a new guide.

Colchester Royal Grammar School received the accolade as part of the Sunday Times schools guide.

The 28th edition of the guide, Parent Power, identifies the 2,000 highest-achieving schools in the UK, ranked by their most recently published examination results.

The guide’s deputy editor Nick Rodrigues said: “Colchester Royal Grammar School has been in The Sunday Times top 10 seven times in the past ten years and is regularly the highest ranked school in Essex.

“This year a total of 39 pupils were offered places at Oxford and Cambridge, a school with such an exceptional record deserves to be recognised as East Anglia’s school of the decade.”

Headmaster John Russell said: “This award is a testament to the hard work, commitment and dedication of my outstanding colleagues, both past and present, who have changed the lives of so many students that have passed through our historic gates.

“We know the opportunities we have given our students have enabled them to achieve their potential, whatever their background.

“It is not an exaggeration to say former students around the world are making a real difference in their chosen academic and professional fields.”