URCHFONT Primary School, the first to fail its Ofsted inspection eight years ago, has been hailed as the most successful junior school in the country after gaining the best results in Standard Attainment Tests for Key Stage 2.

Out of 11 Year 6 children taking the SATs exams, five of them reached level six in science, which is normally expected from 14-year-old pupils, and one achieved this level in maths.

It was the first Beacon School in the county, offering advice on best practice to other schools in its area in return for additional investment funding.

Headteacher Liz Templar said: "This was a mixed-ability group that was very hard-working. We make no special emphasis on the SATs, rather on the enjoyment of learning. A child at level five can make the step up to level six with a sound background in teaching over the previous five years."

A spokeswoman for Pewsey Primary School which is currently under an acting head, Diana King, said: "We did much as we expected to."

The league tables show that the Pewsey school's position (science 84 per cent, English 65 per cent and maths 61 per cent) had slipped for a third year running but was still showing a great improvement from four years ago.

Derry Hill Primary School headteacher John Bellamy said he was delighted with the results, as 100 per cent of pupils achieved grade four or above in all three subjects.

He said: "The school has been making steady progress in the last few years, but I think it's very difficult to compare one year group with another.

"What we should be looking at is value added, where you look at what a school starts off with and where it finishes up, what we as a school can add. It's unfair to compare different types of schools in different areas without taking other factors into account."

Nick Bowditch, the head of Sherston School, said league tables are not an accurate reflection of what the school achieves.

"The children worked very hard and it was an exceptional cohort of pupils," he said. "But there are so many other factors in the school and if we had someone who was away, that could have affected us because each child is worth six points.

"The league tables don't reflect all the attributes of the school because it does not include factors such as links with the community and the village."

Jane Ratcliff, headteacher at Kings Lodge Primary School, Chippenham, where 95 per cent of pupils achieved level four or above in science, 75 per cent in English and 70 per cent in mathematics, said: "We are thrilled. The teachers here have never stopped working and are a fantastically committed team. Team work is the key to the school's success."

Fiona Allen, the headteacher at Corsham Primary School said: "This has been an all round effort by everyone at the school, particularly the children, who have worked very hard on their results."

But, she said, the school was always looking at ways to improve.

The headteacher of Monkton Park Primary School in Chippenham, Lynn Karanjia, said: "We are very pleased with the results. The children have put in a lot of hard work and have definitely benefited from booster classes and smaller working groups this is the real key."

She said staff also worked hard to make sure the children had a varied curriculum in a bid to broaden their skills and shape their attitudes.

Collingbourne Primary School headteacher Janet Wright said she was pleased with her pupils' efforts, which put them above the county averages.

More than 20 per cent of the school's 102 pupils have special needs. Mrs Wright said: "The children are doing well not only in terms of league tables but in what they are achieving generally.

James Smith, the head of Preshute School, at Manton, said he was proud of his pupils achieving 100 per cent in English and science and 92 per cent in maths. "We are happy with the results but I think they are only a rough and ready gauge to a school's success," he said.

Bernard Crooks, the head of Minety School, said: "The results have not just materialised, they come at the end of six or seven years so the children would not have achieved the results without the foundations being put in place."

Wiltshire's chief education officer Bob Wolfson said: "I am delighted that so many young people in so many Wiltshire schools have done so well."

But he said the tables only show the academic performance, not what youngsters have done in relation to ability.

"The most important thing is not the overall result but the individual improvements so many children have made over the past two to three years," he said.