BURY'S primary schools are once again the best in the North of England - and seventh best in the country.

The league tables, published this week, are based on how well 11-year-old pupils performed in the Standard Attainment Task (SATs) tests last summer. They measure the percentage of pupils who achieve level four - the average level for that age group - in the core subjects of English, maths and science.

Bury has jumped from ninth place last year, while the number of Local Education Authorities (LEAs) has increased from 132 to 150.

Mr Harold Williams, chief education officer, said: "I'm very pleased with the performance, it's a credit to the pupils, staff, parents and governors. There has been a tremendous team effort which is worthy of high praise."

Ahead of Bury were the Isles of Scilly, City of London, Richmond Upon Thames, Wokingham, Rutland and Surrey.

However, many of these cannot be fairly compared with Bury, which has 67 primary schools. The Isles of Scilly, for instance, only has three primary schools, the City of London just one, and Rutland 18. Richmond upon Thames has 39, but it is one of the most affluent boroughs in the country. In English, Bury schools had an average score of 77.4. In maths the average was 75.9, and in science 85.1. The national averages were 69.7, 68.2 and 77.9, respectively.

Overall, Bury had an aggregate score of 238.4, its best ever, which is significantly higher than the national average of 215.8. Last year Bury scored 215.4.

In addition to its success nationally, Bury scored highest in Greater Manchester. Its closest competition came from Stockport LEA which scored 233.5 and was ranked 16th.

Greenhill CP School topped the table with a total score of 294. Headteacher Mr Martyn Pilling said: "I'm obviously very pleased for the children, they have worked extremely hard and have achieved an excellent performance."

But he added: "We are philosophical about the whole thing, next year we might not be so high."

The school that showed the most improvement was Prestwich's Butterstile CP School. Its score has increased by 94 to 256.

Supporting headteacher Mr Peter Parker said: "I am delighted by the result and the improvement shown. At Butterstile we strive to get the best out of all our children and this will continue."

The school which fared the worst was St Thomas's CE in Bury. Its score dropped from 200 last year to 143 this year.

Headteacher Mr Leroy Taylor said: "I take the league tables with a pinch of salt. You have to look at the school in context. Our latest Ofsted report was very positive and it praised the quality of teaching."

Councillor Andrea Hughes, Bury Council's lifelong learning chairman, said of Bury's performance: "This really is an excellent achievement to build on the high standards that Bury has been producing for a number of years now. It just underlines the hard work and commitment that is ever present in the education of our children here in Bury."

She added: "The education that children receive at primary school level is the very foundation on which they can build for the future. To see our youngsters getting off to such a tremendous start in their early years obviously bodes well for the future."

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