Because of rounding, the published aggregate is not necessarily the same as the sum of the published percentages, but might be higher or lower by one.

In the APS ranking, the bold column shows the rank compared with other schools and, next to it, the actual point score.

The average point score (APS) - a new indicator last year - is designed better to reflect the achievement of all pupils, not only those reaching Level 4.

It involves adding up all the points pupils achieved in the three subjects, then dividing this by the number of pupils eligible to take the tests.

Points are awarded as follows:

Test level	Points
B (below test level)	15
N (not awarded a level)	15
Level 2	15
Level 3	21
Level 4	27
Level 5	33
Level 6	39

Where more than one school has the same score, they are further ranked on the number of pupils eligible to take the tests - on the basis that it is harder to get more pupils achieving a high performance - then on their 2002 aggregate score, then alphabetically.

In the Aggregate ranking, the bold column shows the ranking and, to its right, the aggregate score on which it is based.

Where more than one school has the same score, they are further ranked on the number of pupils eligible to take the tests, then alphabetically.

The letters SS signify a school with 10 or fewer pupils eligible to take the tests. They are included in the lists for completeness but no results are published for them - they are reported as NA.

School pages

Clicking the name of any school in any of the lists takes you to its individual page.

At the top, as well as contact information for the school, there is an ABSENCE figure.

This is the percentage of half days lost across the whole school due to unauthorised absence - truancy.

A "negl." result indicates that absence was more than 0 but less than 0.5%. A "$" means the school did not complete this return to the department. A "#" symbol means it is a new school, for which an absence return is not required.

Next to PERFORMANCE is the figure for the number of pupils eligible to take the tests and, next to that, the proportion of those deemed to have special educational needs (SEN) - with or without formal statements.

The average point score (APS) is given first. The red bar below it allows you to see at a glance how well this school did, compared with the best in the country (which achieved 32.8).

Other bars show the local and national averages.

Then the results for each subject are reported. The A/D figures next to the subject name show the percentage of pupils failing to achieve a level in the test because they were absent or "disapplied".

This bit of jargon refers to the few pupils who were not able to take part in some or all of the tests, usually because they have certain special educational needs that cannot be catered for.

The coloured bars here also compare these results with the best in the country (100%), and the local and national averages.

There is then an IMPROVEMENT measure, showing the aggregate scores for this year and the previous three years, again with at-a-glance comparison bars ("TOP" in this case being 300).

An NAmeans the school had too few pupils for its results to be reported in the relevant year.

At the foot of the page you can then see how the school ranks against others in the area and, with a click, go to its place in the full lists.

Types of school

CY - Community school
VA - Voluntary aided school
VC - Voluntary controlled school FD - Foundation school

Recent arrivals

Ministers agree it is unfair for schools to be judged on the results of children who have arrived recently from overseas and whose first language is not English, so the schools can choose to omit these pupils from the eligible number in the performance tables.

Some schools will have improved their performance as a result, although they are not identified in the data.

This change is also reflected in their local education authorities' averages - but not in the national averages.