School figures blasted

Peter Tinniswood said he was no fan of league tables, but added that he was delighted with the success of his students in their summer examinations.

Lancing College actually topped the West Sussex league table in terms of AS and A-level results.

All the schools in the country were graded by their GCSE and A/AS-level results and a new indicator, value added measures.

The value added measure is designed to show how a pupil has improved from key stage two to GCSE level.

Mr Tinniswood said: "The latest league tables published by the Department of Education and Science are of little value because of the range of qualifications included and the value attached to them.

"We have an absurd system which credits a pass grade in the ABC certificate in wired sugar flowers as comparable to a C grade in maths, or one GNVQ in information technology as equivalent to four good academic GCSEs.

"They are simply not comparable in terms of content and study-time required."