Head teachers have welcomed the publication of the government's sample "value added" league tables, as being a fairer way of measuring schools' achievements.

Click here for a sample

The scheme was piloted in 200 schools in England to quieten critics - mainly teachers and unions - who say the current league tables, based on raw results, mainly show what sort of intake of pupils a school has.

The "value added" measure is designed to give some indication of the effectiveness of the teaching at different schools.

Bernard Phillips: "A reflection of the quality of teaching in the school"

Take Breeze Hill School in Oldham, where 20% of pupils achieved five GCSEs at grades A* to C - well below the national average of 50%.

But when it comes to the "value added" tables, Breeze Hill scores 103.2 points - well above of the average of 100.

Quality teaching

The head teacher, Bernard Phillips, said the results were a reflection of the quality of teaching in the school.

"The 'value added' tables tell you more about what we've done with the children since they arrived here," said Mr Phillips.

It's a fantastic boost to suggest the quality of teaching here is adding value to our young people

Bill Jordan, head of Dyke House

"The raw data is only really a reflection of the brightest kids in the year and we don't tend to get many of those.

"We will always be low in the league tables because of our intake."

Traditionally only 10% of pupils at Breeze Hill were reading at the correct level for their age on entry to the school, he said.

Of the 780 pupils, 78% are of Asian heritage - many do not speak English as their first language - and over half of the school's pupils are entitled to free meals.

"The 'value added' tables show our intake are doing better than could be expected based on their attainment at 14.

"My staff are delighted - it vindicates what we've been saying all along. They work very hard but get castigated for poor results," he said.

Another success story

Another school which benefits from the new tables is Dyke House Comprehensive School in Hartlepool.

Its percentage of pupils achieving five GCSEs at grade A* to C is 37%.

But, after taking part in the government's pilot scheme, Dyke House was shown to have a score of 102.2.

The head teacher, Bill Jordan, said such league tables were a much fairer indication of the progression and improvement of pupils.

"I would like to see value added tables being put up as the method of letting people know the value of the work done in this school.

"It's a fantastic boost to suggest the quality of teaching here is adding value to our young people," said Mr Jordan.

Racing Linford Christie

He compared schools like Dyke House - where 40% of the 1,000 pupils are entitled to free school meals and 400 are on the special educational needs register - to someone like himself having to race against Linford Christie.

"Now I would need a handicap of at least 85 metres," he joked.

"Damage is done when it's a 'blame and shame' culture - what schools in challenging circumstances need is an 'encourage and support' culture."

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How it works

The table below shows part of the data from this year's "value added" pilot involving about 200 schools, broadly representative of state and independent schools across the country.

It shows what percentage of pupils have special educational needs (SEN), what percentage got at least five A* to C grades at GCSE, and the new "VA" measure of how much they have been brought on since their tests at age 14.

This is arrived at by using as a base-line pupils' scores from their national tests in English, maths and science.

These are then compared with the same pupils' GCSE results to present a measure centred on 100, representing the average progress nationally.

More than 100 indicates that a school's pupils have made more progress than the same age group nationally; below 100 means they have made less progress.

In the pilot schools, the range was from 90.1 to 111.9.

Click the name of any school to go to its page in the main, "old" school tables.

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