FEWER students in Wiltshire are achieving the top GCSE results compared to last year according to the latest tables released by the department of education (DfE).

But headteachers are putting the fall in figures down to the Department of Education’s decision to only accept student’s first entry exam results, not their best entry.

This has meant the that some students who sat their GCSEs earlier than their peers, and then chose to take it again later to improve their results, only had thier first exam result included in the league tables.

A statement issued today by schools from the North Wiltshire Federation said: "The results published in the school league tables in January 2015 reflect only the first time any pupil took a GCSE exam.

"In our schools most of our pupils sat English and maths GCSEs in November 2013 and then some of them took those exams again in June 2014, with many gaining higher grades. These higher grades are not reflected in the league tables for the schools but do count for the young people.

"As headteachers we firmly believe that the ability to have a second attempt, particularly at the most crucial subjects of English and maths, is in the best interests of our learners, giving them another opportunity to achieve the entry qualifications to sixth form and college courses.

"In some of our schools as many as 10 per cent of last year’s pupils increased their performance to achieve the higher grades which enabled them to access level 3 courses e.g. A-levels in September 2014.

"After all, in life we are rewarded if we stick at things and eventually succeed, for example in passing the driving test, which can be taken as many times as it takes."

Theschools represented in this statement are: Abbeyfield; Bradon Forest; Corsham; Devizes; Hardenhuish; John Bentley; Malmesbury; Royal Wootton Bassett; Sheldon; and St John's.  

And Steve Colledge, chairman of SASH (Swindon Association of Secondary Heads), said: “The Department for Education League Tables do not show an accurate view of schools performance this year. 

"Parents would be advised to take a look at the more accurate schoolperformancetables.org.uk which provides ‘best entry’ information and therefore shows the results students left Year 11 with rather than only some of them. Not including all a student’s results will also mean the value-added for a school is wrong too in the DFE Table.

“In early October 2013 the DFE announced that only first entry into an examination would count in the League Table for 2014 results and not ‘best entry’. 

"Many schools had already committed to entering students into maths and/or English more than once and had informed parents of this. The DFE announcement was far too late with the first examinations only a few weeks away at the time.

“Entering students into these examinations more than once has proven very effective in enabling them to learn from mistakes in revision and to be able to inspire further success. 

"Another big issue to undermine the league table accuracy is the refusal to allow two examination boards (AQA and WJEC) IGCSE results not to count in this year’s tables. This has resulted in good grades not being included for many schools. 

"There is therefore little accuracy in what these tables contain, no true picture in relation to the student experience and the grades they have achieved individually.”

Nationallly more than 300 schools fell beneath the Government's floor target this year after failing to ensure that enough pupils gained five good GCSE grades and made decent progress in the basics, according to an analysis of new league tables.

The Department for Education (DfE) insisted that the rise is down to two key reforms - a decision that only a teenager's first attempt at a GCSE would count in the annual performance tables, and a move to strip poor quality vocational qualifications out of the rankings.

But the increase is likely to cause concerns among school leaders, who have voiced fears that schools will be considered failing not just due to changes in the system but also"volatility" in last summer's GCSE results.

The new league tables, published today, are based on data provided by the DfE and show how every school and college in England performed at GCSE, A-level and other academic and vocational qualifications in 2014.

They also indicate that dozens of secondaries, the majority of them private schools, have seen their results plummet to zero because some combinations of English GCSEs and some IGCSEs do not count in the rankings this year.

State secondaries are considered to be below the Government's floor target if fewer than 40% of their pupils gain at least five C grades at GCSE, including English and maths, and students are not making good enough progress in these two core subjects.

In total, 330 schools fell below the benchmark this year, up from 154 last year.

Schools that fall below the threshold could face action, including being closed down and turned into an academy, or being taken over by a new sponsor. 

However the DfE insisted that the floor standard is one of a number of factors that schools are judged on and falling below the benchmark does not automatically mean that a school will face intervention.

It also said that the two major changes to the exams system - which schools were told about around 18 months ago - do not affect pupils individual exam results.

Education Secretary Nicky Morgan said: "For too long pupils were offered courses of no value to them and schools felt pressured to enter young people for exams before they were ready.

"By stripping out thousands of poor quality qualifications and removing resits from tables some schools have seen changes in their standings.

"But fundamentally young people's achievement matters more than being able to trumpet ever higher grades. Now pupils are spending more time in the classroom, not constantly sitting exams, and 90,000 more children are taking core academic subjects that will help them succeed in work and further study."

Mrs Morgan added that the Government has "raised the bar" and that schools are already rising to the challenge.

Earlier this week the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) claimed that the Government floor targets are "pretty much irrelevant" this year due to the upheaval in the exams system.

ASCL general secretary Brian Lightman warned against judging the nation's schools on one set of exam results, saying too much has changed compared with 2013 to draw accurate comparisons from year to year.

Last summer's GCSE results showed a sharp drop in English grades, with 61.7% of entries scoring A*-C, down 1.9 percentage points from last summer. This is believed to be the biggest drop in the qualification's history. Maths saw an opposite result, with 62.4% of entries gaining an A*-C grade, up a massive 4.8 percentage points on 2013.

These are key subjects in the Government's floor target, and a lower-than-expected English result could push a school below the benchmark.

An analysis of the data indicates that this year's top school for GCSEs was King Edward VI Five Ways School, an academy in Birmingham. It entered 155 pupils for GCSEs and equivalent qualifications and all scored at least five C grades, including English and maths. It also had the highest average points score per pupil at 685.5.

The most improved school was the Charter Academy in Southsea which saw has seen its results rise from 39% of students getting at least five Cs including the basics in 2011 to 83% achieving this standard in 2014 - a 44% rise.