Reading ranks in top 15 for under-performing state-funded secondary schools

Education figures indicate 346 of these schools fell below the Government's minimum standards in 2018.

The index recorded Prospect School, John Madejski Academy and Phoenix College as 'well below average' and Reading School, Kendrick and Reading Girls' School as 'well above average'.

More than 10 per cent of state-funded mainstream schools did not make the grade, with the South East ranking as the second-worst performing region behind Yorkshire & Humber.

Out of the seven state-funded secondary schools in Reading, two were deemed to be underperforming, while the town's neighbouring authorities in West Berkshire and Wokingham had none out of a total of 18 schools.

There are also figures on the best and worst primary schools, based on the outcomes in reading, writing and maths in 2018.

Oxford Road Community stands head and shoulders above the competition, while Moorlands Primary and The Avenue Special School were among the lowest-rated.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: "Performance tables can never tell the full story of a school and we urge parents and governors not to place too much weight on them.

"The secondary school performance tables are inherently flawed in that the headline measure of Progress 8 – which is used to judge the performance of schools effectively – penalises schools which have a high proportion of disadvantaged children.

"The effect of this is to stigmatise these schools, making it more difficult to recruit headteachers and teachers and demoralising pupils, parents and communities."

The most recent figures for school workforces in Reading show the average salary for full-time staff at both primary and secondary level.

Numbers range from £32,558 at St Mary and All Saints C of E Primary School, to nearly £50,000 at Civitas Academy.

Many academies, independents and special schools do not provide data for these league tables.