Sixty per cent of children left local schools with at least five GCSE's at A-C, according to new Government league tables.

The top performing state school was the Chantry High School in Martley with 71 per cent.

Malvern College, a selective independent school, did particularly well in this year's tables with statistics showing 100 per cent of Key Stage 4 pupils gaining five or more GCSEs at A-C.

Headteacher Hugh Carson was pleased with the results but cautioned: "All statistics should come with a health warning."

He added that the school was always delighted to celebrate the

success of its pupils.

At Hanley Castle, 67 per cent of KS4 pupils gained five or more A-C grades.

Headteacher Rob Haring said that while generally he was not in favour of school league tables, he understood that parents wanted to make informed choices and needed information about school performance.

"Standards are not dropping. Pupils today are better prepared than in the past and this is reflected in the fantastic results we've seen this year," said Mr Haring.

He said the results reflected the hard work of staff and pupils and good home-school links.

He was particularly pleased with the school's 'value added' score, as this indicated the increasing number of pupils who were achieving higher grades than predicted.

The biggest improvement in GCSE results, according to the figures, were at Malvern Girls' College, Queen Elizabeth High School in Bromyard and Dyson Perrins.

Chase headteacher Kevin Peck said the school's results were the second best in its history.

There was a small decrease in the numbers of pupils gaining A-C grades at John Masefield, Newent Community School and Hanley Castle.

The value-added measures in the table are designed to indicate the progress made by pupils from the age of 11 and between KS3 and KS4. Figures over 995 indicate schools that are helping their pupils achieve more, whatever their ability.