HEAD teachers have praised students following the publication of the national GCSE league tables.

Twenty-three per cent of pupils at Brays Grove School, Harlow, gained five or more A-C grades.

Deputy head teacher John Donovan said: "Overall we were pleased with the performance and this year there was a significant shortening of the gap between boys and girls.

"Last year we had problems with recruitment so that was obviously going to have an effect, but this year we're fully staffed and that is going to make a big difference."

At Passmores School, Harlow, 25 per cent of exam students achieved five or more A-C grades.

Acting head teacher Karen Bousfield said: "Our staff were generally quite pleased with the result. We're fortunate to be fully staffed and over-subscribed and as a result of our curriculum development we're expecting a trend of improved results."

Burnt Mill acting head teacher Ian Poulter praised his students despite the number of children gaining five or more A-C grades dropping by seven per cent, to 28 per cent.

The five or more A-C figure at St Mark's Roman Catholic School is down four per cent, to 31 per cent.

Head teacher David Brunwin said: "I think we did as well as we could. We didn't expect to make a substantial increase. The school is only as good as the children. We've got some who worked so hard and had some astonishing results and we had others that didn't do as well as we expected.

"We're not happy with our position in the league but a lot of the children came to us with problems and they did as well as they could."

Stewards School has also seen a decline, dropping six per cent, with 24 per cent of students achieving five or more A-C grades. Mark Hall's figure rose one per cent on last year, with 40 per cent of students gaining five A-C grades, while students at St Nicholas School continued the school's GCSE record with all 12 students achieving five or more A-C grades.

It is the only school in Essex to achieve 100 per cent pass rates for three consecutive years.

Head teacher Geoff Brant said: "The 100 per cent rate of 2001 repeats the 100 per cent rate of 2000 and owes so much to the commitment of the students along side the dedication of the teaching staff.

"We have had the same success rate for the last three years and once again we're absolutely delighted. We hope we can maintain that momentum."

The number of students achieving five A-C grades at Birchwood High School, Bishop's Stortford, rose from 45 per cent last year to 49 per cent this year.

Hockerill Anglo-European College is "delighted" at its four per cent from last year's 63 percent.

Head teacher Robert Guthrie said: "We're delighted the table shows us to be the most improved school in the past three years. But the publication of relatively limited information about schools in the so-called league tables is not terribly informative to parents."

Students making the grade at Saint Mary's Roman Catholic School rose five per cent, to 70 pe cent, but the number of five or more A-C grades by students at Bishop's Stortford College dropped slightly but was still a healthy 88 per cent instead of the 90 per cent of last year.

At Bishop's Stortford High School the figure fell two per cent, to 81 per cent. And Herts and Essex High also saw a slight decrease, with a 89 per cent achieving the five or more figure compared to 93 per cent in 2000.

Head teacher Sandra Buchanan said: "We're delighted with our results and very pleased with our high ranking in the tables. I look forward to the time when the tables record the amount of value that is added from the point at which pupils are admitted to the school rather than just the raw scores."

Leventhorpe School in Sawbridgeworth saw a drop, to 58 per cent from 61 per cent.

November 27, 2001 13:05