A SMALL village school has shot from nowhere to top the overall league tables for Swindon's primary schools.

And South Marston Church of England Primary also became the first ever to gain 100 per cent in all three subjects English, maths and science .

Second was Chiseldon Primary, which topped the league two years ago and which came fifth last year.

Third was Wanborough Primary which just failed to make the top ten last year.

Haydon Wick dropped from first to fourth, Westrop, which came second last year, dropped out of the top ten, while Northview, another Highworth School, dropped from third to fifth.

The results from the top ten schools this year were considerably better than last year's.

Last year Haydon Wick pupils, for example, posted an average score of 95 per cent, a result which would have been good enough for only seventh position in this year's tables.

At South Marston, where 18 children sat the tests, acting head teacher Gill Llewellyn was in no doubt about the reason for her success.

She said it was due to the way the whole school community worked together.

Two other schools which made major improvements were King William Street Church of England Primary and Penhill Primary, which has moved off the bottom spot.

Two years ago King William Street failed its Ofsted but this year its science results almost put it into the top ten for that subject, while its overall percentage score went up from 213 to 250 19 points above the national average.

At Penhill, where the infant and junior schools were amalgamated to form one primary, the overall percentage score went up from 92 to 135.

Head teacher Lynda Rankin said: "We were given three years by the school inspectorate to improve by ten per cent in all three subjects.

"In two years we have done this in maths and science. I am disappointed that we have not done so in English, but perhaps that takes a bit longer.

"Overall it is very encouraging."

Both she and King William head Alan Voyce put their success down to hard work.

Mr Voyce added: "I was very pleased with the science, but everything is on an upward trend. It's down to hard work, the quality of teaching and, of course, to the efforts of the pupils themselves."

Bottom of the table is Oaktree Primary, created last year by the amalgamation of Park South Infants and Juniors.

Last year the junior school came second from bottom.

Head teacher Ann Harris was disappointed with the results, but was pleased that more children achieved above level 2 and nearer to level 4 the expected average than last year.

She is also putting in place a number of strategies to raise standards and said: "I am confident we will see a significant improvement."

Third from bottom was another school born of amalgamation of the infant and junior schools Mountford Manor Primary.

But even here it improved its overall marks from 128 to 148.

League tables for Swindon, Wiltshire and Gloucester appear in the Evening Advertiser, edition Thursday, December 7.