Schools in England and Wales are set to see big changes in the way they are ranked moving forward, as this year marks the last academic year that they will be judged solely on their raw GCSE results. 

Head teachers nationwide have welcomed the decision, which will see schools measured on a much wider range of metrics and results across eight subjects. The government has said that schools are taking up the challenge of improving in line with its new tougher measures for rankings. 

At the moment, secondary schools are adjudged to be "underperforming" if fewer than 40 per cent of their pupils have achieved an A* to C grade in five of their GCSE subjects, including both English and maths, as well as if schools are below average score for pupils' progress.

However, head teachers have often complained that this method of ranking does not take into account factors such as the intake of each school, which makes the league tables published by the government somewhat unfair. 

This is in spite of the fact the Department for Education has insisted that parents want to be able to see results that are easy to digest and tell a tale without having to dig too deep. 

Under the new rankings, schools will be judged on what is known as Progress 8. Instead of judging schools based purely on how pupils perform in five GCSE subjects, Progress 8 will see their progress make between Key Stage 2 tests taken at the end of primary school and their performance in eight specific subjects in testing at the end of secondary school.  

Schools Minister Nick Gibb, said: "Our reforms to GCSEs and A-levels are based on the highest possible aspirations for our young people - providing a broad and balanced education and equipping them with the knowledge, skills and qualifications which will set them up to succeed."