Winchester College tops private schools

Eton has slipped down the league table

Winchester College is back at the top of a league table of fee-paying schools.

The table, based on A-level results, is put together by the Independent Schools Council (ISC).

This year, for the first time, nearly thirty schools boycotted the table and did not enter their results for it, because they say exam marking is unreliable.

Winchester, where boarding fees are £18,360 a year, beat last year's winner - Westminster - into second place.

Eton slips

Third place went to St Paul's Girls' School in London, while Manchester Grammar School was fourth.

Eton - where Prince Harry is at school - fell from 13th place to 40th.

The headmaster of Winchester College, Nick Tate, said: "We've been near or at the top of the A-level table for some years and it's not anything new, but obviously it is particularly pleasing when it happens.

"We are fortunate in having relatively small A-level groups and a very able and scholarly staff that work very hard with students."

He said another reason why pupils did so well was the school's tradition of giving them extra lessons of an hour a day in history, philosophy, politics and the arts.

The lessons, known as 'div', which is short for division, do not lead to any extra exams.

Pressure

The pass rate at A-level in private schools has now reached 99%, up from 97% last year, according to the ISC.

The national average 94.3%.

The proportion of A grades was nearly double the national average, with four out of ten candidates achieving an A.

The general secretary of the ISC, Alistair Cooke, said: "These results show why families are choosing ISC schools in increasing numbers.

"In spite of the ever-increasing pressure on pupils, they and their schools have achieved higher standards than ever before."

Among the schools which chose to boycott the tables were King's School in Rochester, Kent, Stoneyhurst College in Lancashire and Kingswood School in Bath.

Kingswood's headmaster Gary Best said the school would make its results known once it was sure they were correct.

The school has asked for re-marks for all its students in four subjects.

Mr Best told the Times Educational Supplement: " We are finding an increase in results that have to be challenged because we do not think they are correctly marked.

"This has very significant implications when it comes to statistical analysis."

He also said league tables tell you more about the nature of a school's intake than the quality of a school.