by Gerald Vinestock, Information Officer, ISIS (Independent Schools' Information Service) North

FIRST there were 'A'-level league tables and then there were GCSE league tables and, even if it is decided not to have official tables, there may soon be unofficial 7-plus, 11-plus and 14-plus league tables - and almost everyone is cross about them.

There is a distinction to be made between parents being told a school's full examination results - a good thing! - and the assembling of results into tables - a bad thing!

Results ought to be a great help to parents, but the schools and others worry because, though examination results are important, they are only a measure of a school's performance and there is a great temptation for some parents to regard a school's position in a league table as the only indication of its quality.

In any case, tables can be misleading. Some tables take account of all the passes pupils have achieved; do 4 'B' grades (32 points) reflect a higher level of achievement than 3 'A' grades (30 points)?

Some tables regard passes in General Studies as being on a par with those in other subjects, while other tables fail to acknowledge General Studies passes at all.

Independent schools have particular reason to be unhappy about the compiling of league tables, since pupils who enter out of their year group, either early or late, are often excluded from the tables, so that published results often fail accurately to reflect a school's attainment.

A school which is selective in its intake ought to achieve good results. Do not assume, however, that you need to be a genius to enter a 'selective' school; there are not all that many geniuses around.

The Wirral and Cheshire areas are fortunate to have a substantial number of schools which feature in the top echelons of academic schools.

Independent schools offer choice and there is no substitute for parents going to schools and assessing for themselves the quality of the schools they visit. You do not need to be an architect or a surveyor to know whether a house 'feels' right; you don't need to be a Director of Education to tell whether a school 'feels' right.

Of course, parents should have examination results as one indicator when choosing a school, but the best way for parents to choose a school is to make a personal visit to several schools, to ask lots of questions and to be prepared to rely on instinctive feelings about which school is best for their children.

ISIS will also be very happy to offer help and information about independent schools, but the decision is so important it must remain one to be made only by the parents.

Advice on independent schools can be obtained from ISIS, Carnforth, Lancs. LA6 1AD (01524 735977). The Handbook listing Northern schools costs £1.50 (including postage and packaging).

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.