ONLY five schools in the Basingstoke area improved on the previous year's performance in GCSEs in 2002, according to the latest league tables.

At some schools in the area the percentage of students who achieved at least five A* to C grades in the 2002 GCSE examinations dropped by as much as 24 per cent on 2001.

But headteachers remain positive about their students' performance, with many schools achieving well above the Hampshire average of 56.2 per cent and the national average of 51.5 per cent of students getting five or more A* to C grades.

Michael Whitty, headteacher of Bishop Challoner School, where the percentage of students achieving five or more A* to C grades had dropped from 66 per cent in 2001 to 61 per cent last year, said: "In a smaller school such as ours, you will get swings from year to year. Every year group is going to be different. It doesn't mean they weren't taught as well. They are just different children."

He added: "Our school was significantly above the national average and our governors were very pleased with the performance."

The Kings School, an independent school in Sarum Hill, Basingstoke, came out top of the schools in the area, with 91 per cent of students achieving five or more A* to C grades, although the figure was down on 2001's performance of 96 per cent.

"We are pleased with the results but we are quite philosophical about league tables," said headteacher Paul Davis. "We don't believe they tell the full story. "Sometimes you get more pleasure from a child getting a D - because they have worked hard and have limited ability - than from a child getting an A*."

At all-girls school North Foreland Lodge, the number of GCSE students achieving five or more A* to C grades in 2002 was up on 2001 - from 71 per cent to 78 per cent. The school also scored highly in the value added section - the measure of progress made from when pupils sat their key stage 3 exams to when they took their GCSEs.

"The school as a whole has done exceptionally well," said acting headteacher Claire Hamilton.

"We are very proud of all the girls we have - at all ability levels."