SALISBURY'S grammar schools scored highly in league tables of examination results published last week.

South Wilts Grammar School for girls and Bishop Wordsworth's School for boys each notched up a number of impressive entries.

South Wilts not only topped the GCSE league table for Wiltshire, with 100 per cent of pupils achieving at least five A*-C grades last summer, but also fell within the UK's top 50 grammars for exam results at 16.

It ranked highly in terms of 'most value added', too, with a score of 1,044.

This figure indicates that the students' GCSE results were the equivalent of seven grades better than expected, based on their results in primary school tests at 11, and placed them 25th nationally.

Headteacher Frances Stratton said: "We have never had results that good - they were just fantastic.

"The girls did really, really well last summer."

Mrs Stratton said a combination of excellent teaching and hard work had helped produced the top results."We have a can-do culture and a high expectation of success - if everyone believes they are going to do well, they do," she said.

"We also have very supportive parents and well-qualified, specialised staff."

An impressive tally of 396.2 A/AS-level points placed Bishop Wordsworth's within the top

50 state schools for

exam results at ages 17 and 18.

This score also placed them at the top of the A/AS-level league table for Wiltshire, and their value added figure of 1,032 meant they only narrowly missed out on a place in the top 50 'most value added' schools in the UK.

Headteacher Stuart Smallwood said: "I'm delighted - our boys are doing really well and getting what they need to go on to university and beyond.

"We get very able boys here and they work very, very hard.

"They are encouraged by the teachers, too, who push them to reach their potential.

"It all adds together to make a very powerful concoction."

The Stonehenge School, in Amesbury, has gone from strength to strength over the past few years, and this was reflected by its inclusion in the 100 most improved schools.

With a 20 per cent increase in the proportion of pupils gaining five good GCSE results between 2001 and 2004, the mixed comprehensive ranked 100th.

Headteacher Nigel Roper attributed the success to his predecessor, Andy Packer, who left last summer.

Mr Roper said: "It was the way Andy Packer and his staff really focused the school's work on the quality of teaching and learning in the classroom.

"This has enabled the students to succeed and learn much better than they used to."

The school is now hoping to make an application for specialist school status in mathematics and ICT.

Mr Roper is also hoping to increase the use of ICT among Year 10 and 11 students and encouraging them to use it as an exam revision tool.