PUPILS at the Thomas Hardye School have topped the tables in the national curriculum tests - with the best average scores in the county.

The latest exam league tables, published today, show the Dorchester school was ranked number one by the local education authority (LEA) after results for tests sat by 13 and 14-year-olds, were published.

Headteacher Dr Iain Melvin was delighted that his pupils attained the best maths grades out of all 20 Dorset schools, with 88 per cent scoring level five and above in the Key Stage 3 exams.

A total of 83 per cent of pupils achieved the same in English, while 82 per cent attained level five and above in science - gaining the county's highest average points score per pupil across all three subjects.

The value-added measure, which gauges the progress individuals make from Key Stage Two to Key Stage Three, has placed Thomas Hardye among the nation's top quarter of best performing schools.

Dr Melvin said: "Of course we are very pleased. This pays testimony to the hard work of our students and staff.

"The result that interests us the most is the average points score per pupil, because that shows a very strong performance across the board."

The Woodroffe School in Lyme Regis came third in the rankings, despite out-performing Thomas Hardye pupils in English (86 per cent) and science (83 per cent).

But the Department for Education and Skills said the Dorchester school is judged to have performed better because a larger number of pupils were eligible to sit the tests.

Woodroffe headteacher Richard Steward said: "We have consistently gained top marks and are in line to achieve excellent GCSE grades. This shows we are well above average and one of the county's highest-performing schools."

All Saints Specialist Science School in Wyke Regis, Weymouth, also performed well, coming in sixth overall.

Some 80 per cent of pupils achieved level five or above in maths, 79 per cent scored the same in English and 78 per cent in science.

Headteacher Tim Balmforth was pleased and said: "League tables are secondary to us because our aim is for the children to do as well as they possibly can. But we take them seriously as a marker of how well they can do in the future. I pay tribute to the staff, the pupils and their parents, who have been so supportive."

Some teachers voiced concerns that the league tables came out so late, following a national marking fiasco that mixed up all the Key Stage 3 English grades.

Budmouth headteacher David Akers, whose school came 13th, said: "It was a real pickle this year, therefore my confidence in these results is dented."

Mr Balmforth added: "The results are very late and were supposed to be published back in December.

"The marking systems still need considerable attention."

Other Dorset schools were ranked out of 20 as follows: Beaminster School (8), Blandford School (14), the Sir John Colfox School (15), Wey Valley Sports College (18) and Royal Manor Arts College (19).

Royal Manor head Paul Green said: "Yet again we have come top of the value-added tables from Key Stage 2 to GCSE and are very pleased.

"This is dramatic progress and shows we go the extra mile with our children.

"But, on paper, the English results are nothing like the children achieved - I do not know where they came from."

Harry Turner, who is head of school improvement at the LEA, said: "The results proved controversial and caused us concern over the accuracy of the English test.

"The majority of schools asked for the papers to be marked again and we have discussed our concerns with the Department of Education and Skills.

"We're way above the national average in all three subjects and the maths results are particularly good - 60 per cent of pupils passed at level six.

"These are the best results we've had and show clear links between the work of the LEA and schools."