TWO Malvern schools have been ranked among the top in the country for A-level results, according to latest figures.

Malvern College made the top 60 schools in England for its average points score per student at A-level or equivalent of 1118.5 and took pole position in county, according to figures from the Department for Education.

Headmaster Antony Clark said the school “does not place a very high premium at all” on league tables.

He said he felt statistics could be interpreted in too many different ways to have real validity and that “they can become the raison d’etre for schools, often not to the benefit of children attending or their families”.

He added: “A good education should be rounded and take into account all aspects of an individual’s growth to maturity, not simply the academic aspect.”

Malvern St James also made the cut for the top 200 schools with an average points score per student of 1000.3.

Patricia Woodhouse, headmistress at MSJ, said: “All credit to the girls and their teachers, this level of academic success is a fitting testament to our positive and ambitious all-girl environment.”

Overall, county students achieved an average total point score of 700.3 – a drop on last year’s score of 710.3 and below the national average of 733.

Meanwhile, in GCSEs Dyson Perrins CE Sports College saw its results rise from 53 per cent to 57 per cent, while The Chase saw a dip from 73 per cent to 55 per cent.

Chase headteacher Kevin Peck said: “Our GCSE results were actually the second-best ever last year in terms of students obtaining five or more A* to C grades and last 2012’s Year 11 did better than any other previous year group in terms of the proportion of grades awarded at A* or A.

“Unfortunately our English results were frustratingly depressed by the exam board’s decision, under Government and Ofqual pressure, to raise the grade boundary between C and D grades in English by 10 marks.

“Had the same students taken the English exam the previous summer or in the January before, many more of them would have gained a C.”

Hanley Castle High School saw a slight drop in its results by two per cent to 70 per cent, as did Malvern St James, which fell from 100 per cent in 2011 to 97 per cent last year.

Malvern College improved on its 2011 score, rising from 81 per cent to 92 per cent.