Top place attributed to hard work, a good ethos and discipline

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Victoria Dock Primary finished top of a league table for Yorkshire which aims to show how well a school has supported the progress of its pupils from the age of seven to 11 - the two stages when they sit Standard Assessment Tests.

A "Contextual Value Added" (CVA) score is given to each school based on how well pupils perform in their English and maths tests at 11-years-old compared with their results at a younger age and the results of children of similar abilities and from similar backgrounds.

Victoria Dock had the highest score in Yorkshire and was named in the top 20 schools in the country in yesterday's figures, which are based on the results of English and maths tests this summer.

Although the CVA score sounds contrived, many teachers argue that it is the most important statistic produced in the league tables.

Headteacher Denham Kite said; "The CVA is important because it shows how much progress a child makes. Children all arrive at school at different levels but this measures their improvement.

"Our CVA score is down to a mix of working hard to make sure children enjoy all aspects of school, having a good discipline and a good ethos.

"Every pupil will have their own strengths so we ensure that every child is confident and believes in themselves but can still respect that other pupils will be better at them in some areas," he added.

Mr Kite said he hoped that the progress pupils make at his school would serve them well at secondary school.

Victoria Dock was one of seven schools in the region named in the top 100 CVA scores yesterday.

The others were Sacred Heart Primary in Sowerby Bridge, Masham Primary near Ripon, Moortown Primary in Leeds, Hill Top Primary in Doncaster, Barugh Green Primary in Barnsley and Bethune Park Primary in Hull.