A HEADTEACHER whose school was ranked the worst high school in Pendle in performance tables has defended his school saying the wrong results were published.

Martin Burgess, of Edge End High School, Nelson, said if the correct results had been taken into account his school would have lifted off the bottom of the Pendle league for the first time.

As the tables stand, the school is ranked 88th in the education tables, five places behind Colne's Primet School -- which is one place above Edge End in the Pendle table.

He said: "The results for five Grade A* to C passes were recorded as 27.2 per cent when it should have been 30.8 per cent and the results for five Grade A* to G passes were down as 84 per cent instead of 86 per cent.

"Our average points score should have been 31.22 per cent."

Mr Burgess said the published results did not take into account GNVQs or the three exam appeals the school made.

He said: "The results are taken from the examination board and we are expected to check them during the September holidays.

"We sent the revised figures back to the company which deals with them for the Department for Education and Employment so if they get lost or mislaid, which we think is what has happened, they don't get them for the tables.

"Part of the blame may lie with us because we did not organise ourselves properly due to the Pendle holidays but at the end of the day it is their job to make sure the correct results are received.

"We have a certificate of posting to prove they were sent.

"The proper figures are in the prospectus and in any report to parents so if anyone reads these other figures they are going to be thinking we are lying and this is the time parents are choosing their schools.

"We were all really upset when we found out because we have worked very hard. The intake of children was one of the worst when they began with only six children out of 107 able to read in line with their reading age. So you can understand why we are so upset."

A spokesman for the Department for Education and Employment said: "Until we have the full details we can't do anything about it and cannot comment further.

"We are going to get in contact with the school and ask them to send a letter explaining the circumstances and if we are at fault we will alter the results."

Picture: Edge End High School headteacher Martin Burgess shows off the paper containing his school's wrong results, watched by pupils Syed Haider, Nathan Jones, Samantha Walker and Mauryaum Khalid