SCHOOLCHILDREN have shown steady progress in the league tables published this week - although their overall attainment remains slightly below the national average.

The tables, based on test results in English, maths and science, show that 10- and 11-year-olds are performing consistently in the core subjects.

Top of the class are youngsters at Morgan's Vale and Woodfalls school, where 93 per cent achieved government targets in maths and science and 87 per cent made the grade in English.

Other schools with star pupils include Winterbourne Earls, Figheldean and St Mark's primaries, where results were well above the national average, along with St Osmund's and Woodford Valley schools.

Wardour Primary School, near Tisbury, achieved perfect grades in English.

However, many headteachers have criticised the tables, claiming the snapshot is an unfair measure of a school's success.

In a bid to make the results more meaningful, the government has highlighted schools that show the most dramatic improvements, with a value added score.

While none of Salisbury's schools made it on to the nationwide top 100 list, some have dramatically better results, including Zouch Primary, Tidworth, and the Kiwi School, Bulford. Kiwi headteacher Colin Martin said: "The main thing these tables show is that different intakes will achieve different results - this has been a good year for us.

"Obviously, our children have worked very hard and our teachers put in a great deal of effort to do their best for every child.

"These tables are an oversimplification of life at the school but it's nice to show this improvement."

However, despite these successes, results in Wiltshire linger just below the national average, with schools achieving an average 27.3 points, compared with the nationwide figure of 27.4.

Fewer pupils reach maths targets than in other subjects and at some schools less than half the children are achieving the expected results.

Director of education at Wiltshire county council Bob Wolfson said the tables showed promising signs.

He said: "Key stage two results continue to be close to the national average.

"This year the English results have just exceeded the all-England average for the first time.

"I am particularly pleased that a number of our low-attaining schools have made substantial improvements.

"We are pleased with our schools' progress and look for further improvements in years to come."