By Gary Eason BBC News Online education editor

The new "value added" measures in this year's league tables are a halfway house.

Ministers want to be able to show children's progress from when they start secondary school to the end of their compulsory education.

That is, from the tests they took as 11 year olds at the end of primary school, to when they sit their GCSE or GNVQ exams.

The Department for Education does not yet have the data on every single child.

It the meantime it has published not so much progress measures as work-in-progress:

• the improvement one set of children has made in the first three years of secondary school
• the improvement a different group of children has made in the two GCSE years

"The value added data lets you look in a more textured way at which ones are succeeding. You can look at the common features of those schools which make them successful," he said.

He said they were "designed to help pupils and parents and schools see the improvement that's being made".

"We think it's significant to try to recognise the work being done in a number of schools, where pupils who are struggling when they come into secondary school are taken forward."

How they work

But the measures are not simple.

THE 'BEST OF THE BEST' AT ADDING VALUE

The Latymer School, Enfield Yesodey Hatorah School, Hackney Hollygirt School, Nottingham City Pipers Corner School, Buckinghamshire Surbiton High School, Kingston upon Thames St Michael's Catholic Grammar School, Barnet Watford Grammar School for Girls, Hertfordshire Dixons City Technology College, Bradford

The top 324 schools

In headline terms, a score of 100 is average and more is better, less is worse.

But in practice it turns out to be much more complex.

Each pupil's achievement is compared with those of other pupils nationally who had the same or similar prior attainment.

The pupils' individual scores are averaged to give a score for the school as a whole, represented as a number based around 100.

What you get

The department says that if every pupil in a school achieved the median (middle) outcome, the school would score 100.

NATIONAL CURRICULUM 'KEY STAGES'

Key Stage 2: ages 8 to 11 Key Stage 3: ages 12 to 14 Key Stage 4: ages 15 to 16 GCSE/GNVQ exams: age 16

For the Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 3 measure, a score of 101 means that on average each of the school's pupils made one sixth of a National Curriculum level (one term) more progress than the median.

A score of 99 means they made a term's less progress.

For the Key Stage 3 to GCSE/GNVQ measure, a score of 101 means that on average each of the school's pupils achieved one extra GCSE/GNVQ point than the median - a grade higher in one subject.

A score of 99 means they achieved one fewer GCSE/GNVQ point - a grade lower.

Head count

However, the statisticians say that size really does matter.

On the first measure, for schools with 50 or more eligible pupils, scores of 99.1 to 100.9 are "broadly average" while for schools with more than 100 pupils, scores of 99.3 to 100.7 are broadly average.

On the second measure, scores of 95.8 to 100.8 are broadly average while for schools with 100+ pupils, 96.5 to 100.1 is broadly average.

And so on. For schools with 10 pupils in either measure, only scores of below 92.8 or above 103.8 are likely to be "significantly different from the average".

Overall the scores range from 92 to 107.4 on the first measure and 80.7 to 116 on the second.

Top schools

There is also something of a trade-off.

If a school does very well in bringing children on in their first three years, it will be all the harder to improve their attainment in the next two.

And vice versa. Officials acknowledge that a school would find it easier to achieve a better score on the second measure if it had done less well on the first.

So - unusually - the department has published its own league table highlighting schools which have done well on both measures: a "best of best" table (see below).

This shows that selective schools are disproportionately represented at the top.

Selection debate

Professor David Hopkins, director of the education department's standards and effectiveness unit, said: "It does appear that when you are selective in terms of your intake, that concentration of high-achieving pupils will give you a little bit more advantage."

It is not for central government to scrap grammar schools Education minister David Miliband

He added that in a big international study of teenagers' achievement, it was interesting to note that Finland had reduced selection and raised achievement "across the board".

David Miliband played a straight bat on the issue.

If enough parents eligible to take part wanted a local ballot on selection then it could be held, he said.

"It is not for central government to scrap grammar schools, it is a matter for local decision-making, in the way that was set out in the 1998 Act, and the government sticks by that."

The table below shows schools with both value added measures in the top 25% of all schools nationally. Those at the top in bold are in the best 5% nationally on both measures.

Click the name of any school for its own page in our main tables.

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School, LEA area	KS2-KS3	KS3-GCSE
The Latymer School, Enfield	102.8	105.7
Yesodey Hatorah School, Hackney	104.6	104.9
Hollygirt School, Nottingham City	103.7	104.6
Pipers Corner School, Buckinghamshire	103.3	104.0
Surbiton High School, Kingston upon Thames	103.0	103.9
St Michael's Catholic Grammar School, Barnet	103.2	103.6
Watford Grammar School for Girls, Hertfordshire	103.4	103.5
Dixons City Technology College, Bradford	102.8	103.2
Feversham College, Bradford	102.4	110.9
Manchester Islamic High School for Girls, Manchester	102.1	109.3
Tauheedul-Islam Girls' High School, Blackburn with Darwen	102.5	107.7
Loxford School of Science and Technology, Redbridge	100.7	107.1
The King David High School, Manchester	101.4	107.1
Luckley-Oakfield School, Wokingham	102.6	106.9
Walthamstow School for Girls, Waltham Forest	100.7	106.1
Thomas Mills High School, Suffolk	101.6	105.6
The Licensed Victuallers' School, Bracknell Forest	102.6	105.5
Lady Margaret School, Hammersmith and Fulham	101.6	105.2
Valentines High School, Redbridge	102.2	104.8
Mount Carmel RC Technology College for Girls, Islington	100.7	104.7
Sexey's School, Somerset	101.9	104.7
Prendergast School, Lewisham	102.1	104.6
Presdales School, Hertfordshire	101.8	104.6
Hockerill Anglo-European College, Hertfordshire	100.8	104.5
Sibford School, Oxfordshire	101.1	104.5
Trinity Catholic High School, Redbridge	100.9	104.4
Hasmonean High School, Barnet	100.9	104.3
St Bonaventure's RC School, Newham	101.5	104.2
Connaught School for Girls, Waltham Forest	101.8	104.2
Newcastle Community High School, Staffordshire	101.2	104.1
Whitmore High School, Harrow	101.4	103.9
Littleover Community School, Derby City	101.3	103.9
Park High School, Harrow	101.3	103.8
Grays Convent High School, Thurrock	101.2	103.8
Millais School, West Sussex	101.5	103.8
Sacred Heart High School, Hammersmith and Fulham	102.1	103.7
Jack Hunt School, Peterborough,City of	100.9	103.7
The Camden School for Girls, Camden	101.3	103.6
St Angela's Ursuline Convent School, Newham	101.0	103.5
Stratford School, Newham	101.5	103.5
St Richard's Catholic College, East Sussex	101.3	103.5
St Bernard's High School, Southend	102.5	103.5
Lordswood Girls' School and The Sixth Form Centre, Harborne, Birmingham	101.4	103.4
Mill Hill High School, Barnet	101.4	103.3
Colchester County High School for Girls, Essex	102.4	103.3
Bishop Luffa Church of England School, Chichester, West Sussex	102.0	103.2
St Martin in the Fields High School for Girls, Lambeth	100.8	103.1
Ilford Ursuline High School, Redbridge	102.0	103.1
Gateways School, Leeds	102.5	103.1
Waddesdon Church of England School, Buckinghamshire	101.1	103.1
Holbrook High School, Suffolk	100.8	103.1
Norbury Manor High School for Girls, Croydon	101.6	103.0
Hall Green School, Birmingham	102.5	102.9
Wildern School, Hampshire	101.0	102.9
Soar Valley College, Leicester City	101.0	102.9
Brentwood Ursuline Convent High School, Essex	101.1	102.9
All Hallows Catholic High School, Lancashire	100.7	102.9
St John The Baptist Catholic Comprehensive School, Woking, Surrey	102.4	102.9
St Benedict's Catholic High School, Warwickshire	101.7	102.9
St Paul's Catholic School, Milton Keynes	101.1	102.8
Parkside Community College, Cambridgeshire	100.9	102.8
Gable Hall School, Thurrock	100.9	102.8
Westholme School, Blackburn with Darwen	102.4	102.8
Balcarras School, Gloucestershire	101.8	102.8
East Bergholt High School, Suffolk	101.3	102.8
The Heathland School, Hounslow	101.0	102.7
Kennet School, West Berkshire	101.5	102.7
Sandringham School, Hertfordshire	101.1	102.7
The Northampton School for Girls, Northamptonshire	101.6	102.7
Didcot Girls' School, Oxfordshire	101.2	102.7
St Dunstan's Community School, Somerset	100.7	102.7
Guru Nanak Sikh Voluntary Aided Secondary School, Hillingdon	102.4	102.6
Tower College, St Helens	102.9	102.6
The King's School, Devon	100.8	102.6
Clitheroe Royal Grammar School, Lancashire	101.9	102.6
St Benedict's Catholic School, Suffolk	100.8	102.6
Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girls, Birmingham	104.5	102.5
St Peter's Collegiate Church of England School, Wolverhampton	100.8	102.5
Saffron Walden County High School, Essex	101.1	102.5
Ripley St Thomas Church of England High School, Lancashire	101.7	102.5
St George's School, Hertfordshire	101.6	102.5
Saint Joan of Arc Roman Catholic School, Hertfordshire	101.3	102.5
Dr Challoner's High School, Buckinghamshire	103.6	102.4
The Ecclesbourne School, Derbyshire	101.7	102.4
The Atherley School, Southampton	104.3	102.4
Comberton Village College, Cambridgeshire	102.3	102.4
Ercall Wood Technology College, Telford and Wrekin	101.5	102.4
Queen Elizabeth School, Cumbria	102.4	102.4
Christ's College, Barnet	102.0	102.3
The Tiffin Girls' School, Kingston upon Thames	104.6	102.3
Rishworth School, Calderdale	102.0	102.3
Varndean School, Brighton and Hove	100.8	102.3
Henry Beaufort School, Hampshire	102.1	102.3
Devonport High School for Girls, Plymouth,City of	102.9	102.3
High School for Girls, Gloucestershire	102.9	102.3
King Solomon High School, Redbridge	100.9	102.2
Emmanuel College, Gateshead	102.5	102.2
Clifton High School, Bristol,City of	104.1	102.2
Cirencester Kingshill School, Gloucestershire	101.1	102.2
Stamford High School, Lincolnshire	103.7	102.2
Queen's College, Somerset	103.1	102.2
La Sainte Union Catholic Secondary School, Camden	101.5	102.1
James Allen's Girls' School, Southwark	104.0	102.1
Wallington High School for Girls, Sutton	104.1	102.1
Queen Mary's High School, Walsall	104.4	102.1
Wakefield Girls' High School, Wakefield	101.2	102.1
St Mary's Catholic High School, Derbyshire	101.9	102.1
Robert May's School, Hampshire	101.4	102.1
Claires Court Schools, Windsor and Maidenhead	103.6	102.1
Bassingbourn Village College, Cambridgeshire	101.6	102.1
Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Cumbria	103.0	102.1
Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Lincolnshire	102.1	102.1
Bishop Stopford School, Northamptonshire	100.7	102.1
Crispin School, Somerset	101.7	102.1
Royal Alexandra and Albert School, Surrey	101.2	102.1
Beal High School, Redbridge	101.8	102.0
St Thomas More Roman Catholic High School Aided, North Tyneside	101.0	102.0
Baycroft School, Hampshire	101.1	102.0
Painsley Catholic High School, Staffordshire	101.5	102.0
Haybridge High School and Sixth Form, Worcestershire	102.3	102.0
Simon Langton Girls' Grammar School, Kent	104.1	102.0
Newmarket Upper School, Suffolk	101.7	102.0
Kingsbury High School, Brent	101.2	101.9
Hornsey Secondary School for Girls, Haringey	101.6	101.9
Wellsway School, Bath and North East Somerset	100.7	101.9
Hope Valley College, Derbyshire	101.4	101.9
South Wilts Grammar School for Girls, Wiltshire	103.9	101.9
Linton Village College, Cambridgeshire	101.1	101.9
Northampton School for Boys, Northamptonshire	101.9	101.9
Seven Kings High School, Redbridge	102.2	101.8
Waldegrave School, Richmond upon Thames	101.9	101.8
Forest School, Waltham Forest	103.3	101.8
Audenshaw School, Tameside	101.4	101.8
St John's School and Community College, Wiltshire	101.0	101.8
Davenant Foundation School, Essex	100.7	101.8
St Catherine's Roman Catholic School for Girls, Bexley	100.9	101.7
The Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls, Ealing	102.2	101.7
Wolverhampton Girls' High School, Wolverhampton	104.8	101.7
Upper Wharfedale School, North Yorkshire	101.0	101.7
Giggleswick School, North Yorkshire	102.5	101.7
Chailey School, East Sussex	101.7	101.7
Perins Community School, Hampshire	103.2	101.7
Middlewich High School, Cheshire	101.6	101.7
The Community College, Bishop's Castle, Shropshire	100.9	101.7
Thomas Telford School, Telford and Wrekin	102.2	101.7
The Queen Katherine School, Cumbria	101.0	101.7
Chipping Campden School, Gloucestershire	100.8	101.7
Leytonstone School, Waltham Forest	100.8	101.6
Loreto Grammar School, Trafford	104.0	101.6
St Peter's Catholic High School, Wigan	101.1	101.6
Uckfield Community Technology College, East Sussex	101.1	101.6
Plymouth High School for Girls, Plymouth	100.7	101.6
Cranbrook School, Kent	104.2	101.6
Lancaster Girls' Grammar School, Lancashire	104.8	101.6
The Priory School, Shropshire	101.3	101.6
Watford Grammar School for Boys, Hertfordshire	102.8	101.6
King Edward VI Handsworth School, Birmingham	103.1	101.5
The Kingswinford School, Dudley	102.9	101.5
Huntcliff School, Redcar and Cleveland	102.6	101.5
Huntington School, York,City of	101.1	101.5
Colyton Grammar School, Devon	103.5	101.5
Southfield School for Girls, Northamptonshire	101.0	101.5
Tolworth Girls' School and Centre for Continuing Education, Kingston upon Thames	101.4	101.4
St George's School Edgbaston, Birmingham	101.6	101.4
The Kingsway School, Stockport	101.4	101.4
St John Fisher Catholic High School, Wigan	101.0	101.4
St Thomas More Catholic School, Gateshead	101.6	101.4
Clifton College, Bristol,City of	105.0	101.4
St Aidan's Church of England High School, North Yorkshire	102.8	101.4
Wreake Valley Community College, Leicestershire	101.7	101.4
Loreto College, Hertfordshire	102.1	101.4
The Priory LSST, Lincolnshire	101.1	101.4
Long Stratton High School, Norfolk	101.6	101.4
Wymondham College, Norfolk	101.4	101.4
Polesworth High School, Warwickshire	101.9	101.4
Langley Park School for Girls, Bromley	101.3	101.3
Plantsbrook School, Birmingham	100.9	101.3
Holly Hall School, Dudley	101.1	101.3
Priestnall School, Stockport	100.9	101.3
The Cedars Upper School and Community College, Bedfordshire	100.8	101.3
Highsted Grammar School, Kent	103.2	101.3
Walmer School, Kent	101.3	101.3
Broughton High School, Lancashire	100.9	101.3
Tuxford School, Nottinghamshire	101.3	101.3
Newport Girls' High School, Telford and Wrekin	104.5	101.3
Barclay School, Hertfordshire	101.1	101.3
Brooke Weston CTC, Northamptonshire	101.6	101.3
Claydon High School, Suffolk	101.1	101.3
St Thomas More Catholic School, Warwickshire	101.6	101.3
St Paul's Catholic College, West Sussex	102.0	101.3
The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial RC School, Kensington and Chelsea	101.7	101.2
Ricards Lodge High School, Merton	101.1	101.2
Wimbledon College, Merton	101.5	101.2
Arden School, Solihull	101.5	101.2
Ossett School, Wakefield	100.8	101.2
Queensbury Upper School, Bedfordshire	100.8	101.2
The Long Eaton School, Derbyshire	100.7	101.2
St Bernard's Convent School, Slough	102.5	101.2
St Gregory's Catholic Comprehensive School, Kent	101.7	101.2
Bennett Memorial Diocesan School, Kent	103.1	101.2
Penwortham Girls' High School, Lancashire	101.4	101.2
Dame Alice Owen's School, Hertfordshire	101.8	101.2
Downlands Community School, West Sussex	100.7	101.2
Bentley Wood High School, Harrow	101.5	101.1
The Green School, Hounslow	100.7	101.1
The Royal Grammar School, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire	104.0	101.1
St Augustine's Catholic College, Wiltshire	101.4	101.1
Great Torrington Community School, Devon	100.8	101.1
The Charles Dickens School, Kent	100.8	101.1
St Hilda's Roman Catholic Girls' High School, Burnley, Lancashire	101.2	101.1
The Hertfordshire and Essex High School, Hertfordshire	101.9	101.1
Huish Episcopi School, Somerset	101.4	101.1
Woodford County High School, Redbridge	105.1	101.0
St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School, Bristol,City of	101.2	101.0
Manor Church of England Voluntary Aided School, York, York,City of	101.6	101.0
Aylesbury High School, Buckinghamshire	103.4	101.0
The Westgate School, Hampshire	102.5	101.0
Regent's Park Girls' School, Southampton	100.8	101.0
Westwood High School, Staffordshire	100.9	101.0
Bearwood College, Wokingham	101.4	101.0
Plymstock School, Plymouth,City of	101.5	101.0
St Mary's RC High School, Herefordshire	101.4	101.0
Parmiter's School, Hertfordshire	101.5	101.0
St Clement Danes School, Hertfordshire	100.7	101.0
Samuel Ward Upper School and Technology College, Suffolk	101.1	101.0
St Benedict's School, Ealing	102.2	100.9
Coombe Girls' School, Kingston upon Thames	100.9	100.9
Fairfield High School for Girls, Tameside	100.7	100.9
Notre Dame Catholic High School, Sheffield	101.5	100.9
The Romsey School, Hampshire	100.9	100.9
The Westgate School, Slough	101.5	100.9
Fairfield High School, Herefordshire	101.4	100.9
St Augustine's Catholic High School, Worcestershire	101.2	100.9
Solway Community School, Cumbria	100.7	100.9
Kirkby Stephen Grammar School, Cumbria	101.0	100.9
Keswick School, Cumbria	102.2	100.9
Lord Williams's School, Oxfordshire	100.7	100.9
Thurston Community College, Suffolk	100.8	100.9
St Bede's School, Surrey	101.4	100.9
Kenilworth School, Warwickshire	101.2	100.9
The Coopers' Company and Coborn School, Havering	101.4	100.8
Bishop Milner Catholic School, Dudley	101.1	100.8
Silverdale School, Sheffield	101.3	100.8
Abbey Grange Church of England High School, Leeds	101.2	100.8
Maiden Erlegh School, Wokingham	100.8	100.8
Alsager School, Cheshire	101.9	100.8
Wigmore High School, Herefordshire	101.4	100.8
Ribston Hall High School, Gloucestershire	103.2	100.8
Boston High School, Lincolnshire	102.9	100.8
The Queen Elizabeth's High School, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire	102.5	100.8
Litcham High School, Norfolk	102.3	100.8
The Cherwell School, Oxfordshire	102.8	100.8
St Ignatius College, Enfield	101.1	100.7
Tile Hill Wood School and Language College, Coventry	101.3	100.7
Wirral Grammar School for Girls, Wirral	102.2	100.7
St Bernard's Catholic High School, Rotherham	100.9	100.7
Lytchett Minster School, Dorset	101.0	100.7
The Thomas Hardye School, Dorset	102.3	100.7
Portchester Community School, Hampshire	100.7	100.7
The Holt School, Wokingham	101.9	100.7
Dover Grammar School for Girls, Kent	103.8	100.7
Hutton Church of England Grammar School, Lancashire	101.7	100.7
Penair School, Cornwall	101.0	100.7
Cirencester Deer Park School, Gloucestershire	101.9	100.7
Alcester High School Technology College, Warwickshire	101.1	100.7
Coloma Convent Girls' School, Croydon	101.3	100.6
Old Swinford Hospital, Dudley	102.4	100.6
Skipton Girls' High School, North Yorkshire	103.0	100.6
St John Fisher Catholic High School, North Yorkshire	101.9	100.6
Chellaston Foundation School and Technology College, Derby City	101.0	100.6
Malmesbury School, Wiltshire	102.0	100.6
Invicta Grammar School, Kent	102.3	100.6
Balshaw's Church of England High School, Lancashire	100.8	100.6
Acle High School, Norfolk	100.8	100.6
Farlingaye High School, Suffolk	100.9	100.6
George Abbot School, Surrey	101.3	100.6
Stratford-upon-Avon Grammar School for Girls A Specialist Language College, Warwickshire	104.8	100.6
The Henrietta Barnett School, Barnet	104.4	100.5
Bullers Wood School, Bromley	102.0	100.5
Newstead Wood School for Girls, Bromley	102.7	100.5
King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls, Birmingham	104.3	100.5
Greenbank High School, Sefton	100.8	100.5
Saint Gregory's Catholic Comprehensive School, Bath, Bath and North East Somerset	101.4	100.5
Beverley High School, East Riding of Yorkshire	101.6	100.5
Wycombe High School, Buckinghamshire	102.1	100.5
Loughborough Grammar School, Leicestershire	103.3	100.5
Sir Jonathan North Community College, Leicester City	100.7	100.5
King Edward VI School, Staffordshire	101.1	100.5
Plymouth College, Plymouth,City of	104.8	100.5
King Edward VI Grammar School, Chelmsford, Essex	105.0	100.5
Sandwich Technology School, Kent	101.6	100.5
Rednock School, Gloucestershire	102.5	100.5
Willesden High School, Brent	100.7	100.4
Hatch End High School, Harrow	101.0	100.4
Finham Park School, Coventry	101.1	100.4
The Wordsley School, Dudley	101.0	100.4
King David High School, Liverpool	101.9	100.4
The Blue Coat CofE School, Oldham	102.1	100.4
Ryedale School, North Yorkshire	101.1	100.4
King James's School, North Yorkshire	101.6	100.4
Knutsford High School, Cheshire	100.8	100.4
The Sweyne Park School, Essex	100.7	100.4
Moulsham High School, Essex	101.2	100.4
The Archbishop's School, Kent	101.2	100.4
Bowland High School, Lancashire	101.7	100.4
Accrington St Christopher's Church of England High School, Lancashire	101.5	100.4
Archbishop Temple Church of England High School and Technology College, Preston, Lancashire	101.0	100.4
Oxted School, Surrey	101.0	100.4
Woking High School, Surrey	100.7	100.4
Copthall School, Barnet	102.2	100.3
Sacred Heart of Mary Girls' School, Havering	101.1	100.3
St James's Church of England Secondary School, Bolton	101.0	100.3
Parkstone Grammar School, Poole	104.2	100.3
Hurworth School, Darlington	100.9	100.3
Ruskin Sports College - 'A Community High School', Cheshire	100.9	100.3
Holmes Chapel Comprehensive School, Cheshire	100.9	100.3
Helsby High School, Cheshire	102.2	100.3
St Benedict's Catholic College, Essex	101.8	100.3
Westcliff High School for Girls, Southend	103.7	100.3
Katharine Lady Berkeley's School, Gloucestershire	101.2	100.3
The King Edward VI Grammar School, Louth, Lincolnshire	103.0	100.3
King Edward VI Church of England Voluntary Controlled Upper School, Suffolk	101.4	100.3
Oathall Community College, West Sussex	101.4	100.3
Warden Park School, West Sussex	100.8	100.3

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