"Three years ago we were on the bottom. That was really hurtful," said Nicola Roth.

"I would hate for any other school to have to go through that."

But her school, Eastborough Junior Infant and Nursery School in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, almost trebled the proportion of its Year 6 pupils achieving the expected level in English, maths and science between 2002 and 2005.

That sustained improvement puts it at the top of the list of 102 schools issued by the Department for Education and Skills.

Poor backgrounds

"Lots of other schools have worked really, really hard and will not get the acknowledgement they deserve," she said.

"It would be better if league tables did not exist. Parents often get a false impression of what the school is about."

Eastborough's pupils come mainly from Pakistani families, many of them poor.

For most, English is not the language spoken at home. Getting parents involved has been a key driver of success.

But the pupils are what matters most.

"Children are happy to come to school. If you get children who are happy to come to school you are nearly there, aren't you?" Ms Roth said.

The table below shows the whole list.

The columns of figures show the aggregate score out of 300 for the years 2002 - 2005, and the overall increase.

The key to inclusion is consistency: a school's results have to have improved each year (or at least stayed the same). Other schools might have had a greater absolute rise but with a dip along the way.

Click the name of any school for its page in the main tables, with details of its performance.

Click here for a fuller explanation of the figures.