CHILDREN at Smallwood Primary School have swept the board to score the best Key Stage Two results in Cheshire.

Every pupil who sat last summer's tests achieved 100 per cent in English, maths and science, the only school in Cheshire to do so.

Some 12 children sat the tests, and Smallwood was one of only 27 primary schools across the country to achieve 100 per cent in all three subjects.

"I am very proud of the children's achievements, and they well deserve their success,'' said headteacher Pat McDonald.

"They work very hard, the parents are very supportive and we all work closely as a team."

The Smallwood results were featured in tables, published this week, of the performance of 11-year-olds in reaching Level 4 in English, maths and science.

Only six of the 20 or so local schools improved on their 1997 results, with a number of schools scoring very high marks.

St Gabriel's in Alsager scored 94 per cent in English, Blackfirs in Congleton achieved 90 in maths, and St Mary's in Congleton scored 96 in science.

Mrs McDonald warned against reading too much significance into the tables, however.

"There are many mitigating factors in what makes a good school,'' she said.

Her comments were echoed by Cheshire's director of education David Cracknell.

"When parents look at schools it is necessary to look at more than just performance in these three basic subject areas," he said.

"It is far more important for parents to visit a school, see the children at work, talk to the members of staff, and make a balanced judgement about how suitable the school is for your child."

Mary Hennessy Jones, headteacher at Cranberry Junior in Alsager, said all the heads in Alsager were proud of their schools' achievements, and the results showed how hard the children had worked.

Alsager School headteacher David Black said all the local primary schools were good, and he would recommend any of them to parents.

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