School head decries 'hypocrisy' over exam tables

The head of one of the best performing schools in England in rankings published on Thursday said many teachers were hypocritical in their condemnation of exam league tables.

Tony Leach, whose Moreton comprehensive school in Wolverhampton topped the national "value added" tables, said teachers regularly told him the rankings were flawed.

"But if tomorrow they were applying for a job in another school the first thing they would do is look at the league tables. I think it's hypocrisy."

"I have no issues philosophically with (tables) whatsoever. I work in the public sector, I am paid by the public and think there has to be a degree of public accountability."

The annual tables are a key part of the government's education policy in England, although they are not used in the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The government believes the competitive rankings keep schools on their toes and spur them to meet education targets.

But teaching unions say the tables distort the curriculum, prevent schools cooperating and should be scrapped.

Catherine Shaw, principal of the John Madejski Academy in Reading, said the tables did not help the school or the local community.

Her school replaced a previously failing institution in a deprived area and has only been running for a year.

Its exam performance was among the worst in the country, with only five percent of pupils hitting the target of at least a C grade in five GCSEs including English and maths.

"The system in terms of measuring performance for a school in challenging circumstances is not particularly fair," she said.

"People don't understand the context of young people with the needs we are trying to address, the challenges they have.

"I've got a number of children who deserve the very best we can give them but they are not ever going to get five A-Cs including English and maths."

The headteachers' union, the Association of School and College Leaders, said the tables were "a toxic influence" from the era of competition and market-based education policies.

The tables skewed the curriculum as schools vied to improve their ranking, said the union's general secretary, John Dunford.

"The latest manifestation of this is the dramatic fall in the numbers taking modern foreign languages," he said.

"This is widely regarded as a hard GCSE ... so instead of taking French or German, students have taken subjects in which it is easier to reach grade C.

"It is increasingly difficult for schools where all students take a foreign language - especially the specialist language colleges - to hold their place in the league tables."

Schools Minister Jim Knight said it was wrong to say schools were opting for easy subjects.

"English, maths and science are all compulsory and today's results specifically highlight each school's performance in these key subjects," he said.

"Parents have a clear right to know how well their school is doing - and publication of results is here to stay."