TWO Suffolk schools have today been singled out among the top 200 achieving primary schools in England.Henley Primary School and Orford Church of England Primary School feature in a new list of the country's top schools.

TWO Suffolk schools have today been singled out among the top 200 achieving primary schools in England.

Henley Primary School and Orford Church of England Primary School feature in a new list of the country's top schools.

The news comes after both schools boasted impressive pass rates in this year's performance examinations.

Every pupil who took English, maths and science examinations passed at level four - a government recognised high standard.

Ken Marrable, headteacher at the Orford voluntary aided school, said: “I don't think I'm alone in saying our school is not a great believer in school tables after standard assessment tests but it's still brought a smile to my face.

“We have a broad approach to education here and it's great to think we are doing things right.

“We've just spent thousands of pounds on a weather station and are linking with a school in Georgia, in the United States, to compare weather information and swap data. We also host major productions here and have big support from the village.

“By having this approach children have something exciting to look forward to every day and it results in good exam results without them having to cram and feel pressured.”

The tables have been published by the Department for Education and Skills.

However, The Evening Star has a tradition of not printing them in full because we believe them to be divisive and bad for morale.

The results have brought good news to Ranelagh Primary School, Paul's Road, Ipswich, which was named as one of the country's most improved schools.

Its results in the three core subjects have improved every year since 2002.

Ipswich's Murrayfield Community Primary School was named in the bottom 200 primary schools.

Under half of the pupils examined achieved level four in English and maths while 50per cent reached level four in science.

A table assessing achievement among local education authorities shows Suffolk in the bottom half - below neighbouring authorities in Essex and Norfolk.

The average scores for schools in the local authority area were 78pc (English), 71pc (maths) and 85pc (science).

Weblink: www.dfes.gov.uk

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