The 2008 Achievement and Attainment tables were published on Thursday by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). In these, Canford appears to have performed rather less well than might be expected. This is a consequence of the way in which these tables are compiled, and in no way represents the true position.

In fact, of course, at GCSE level 100% of our pupils achieved the required five GCSE grades at A* to C including English and Maths; but government tables do not count the International GCSE and candidates are recorded in these tables as having failed.

Canford School pupils took the International GCSE in mathematics for the first time last summer, and met with spectacular success in the exam. The IGCSE is widely recognised as a much more demanding syllabus than the GCSE and we have decided to use it for our more able mathematicians as it provides a better preparation for A level studies; of the 43 pupils who took it, 36 scored the top A* grade, and the remaining 7 scored A grades.

At A level, too, the tables do not represent the true picture. The figure for total points per candidate includes as academic qualifications many awards that we do not offer, such as GNVQs, Vocational A levels, BTEC and Diplomas. These qualifications are designed to assess vocational programmes of study, and do not contribute towards applications to the top universities. Although our curriculum does offer an enormous amount outside the academic timetable, such as Sport, Music, Drama, and Community Service, we are very proud of the success that our pupils enjoy in the classroom: last summer, 87% of our A level grades were A and B, a figure which (combined with our GCSE success rate, 80% A* and A grades) ranked us 73rd in the country, according to the Sunday Times.