The performance of primary schools in Oxfordshire is steadily improving and is better than the national average, according to Government league tables published on December 5.

While school league tables attract criticism from some teachers, who see them as simplistic and misleading, they are a favourite tool of parents when it comes to deciding where to send their children.

This year in Oxfordshire, 11-year-olds have performed better than last year in their Key Stage Two National Curriculum tests in the three core subjects of maths, English and science, and better than the national averages.

In English, 75.7 per cent of pupils achieved level four -- the standard expected of their age group -- compared with a national average of 75 per cent.

In maths, Oxfordshire's 11-year-olds scored 0.5 per cent below the average last year, but in 2002 this result was reversed to a performance 0.2 per cent above all schools in England and Wales, with 73.2 per cent achieving at least level four in the county.

In science, 86.8 per cent of pupils attained level four, 0.8 per cent above the national average.

The average points score for the county, which takes into account the marks achieved by pupils in all three tests, was 27.5, slightly higher than the average of 27.4 and an improvement on last year's 27.3.

The Government also assesses whether schools are meeting their targets by adding together the percentage of pupils achieving level four in English, mathematics and science.

The total for Oxfordshire this year is 235.7, an improvement on last year's figure of 233.4 and above the national average of 234.

In Oxfordshire, the best performing school was Shenington CofE Primary School, near Banbury, where every pupil achieved at least level four in all three subjects and the average points score was 32.2.

Headteacher Coral Milburn- Curtis said factors such as the school's Christian values, its focus on healthy eating and policy of grouping pupils according to performance all helped account for its success.

She said: "We have a single- minded approach to school improvement and a clear vision of what we want our school to achieve, even if that means taking risks, like reducing literacy time in favour of other subjects when there was pressure to increase it." Other high-performing schools included Combe CofE Primary School, where all pupils passed all subjects at level four or above; Kings Sutton School, in Banbury, where pupils achieved 30.4 points on average; and Valley Road School, in Henley, where the average points score was 31.2.

But parents should beware of judging a school's quality purely by its results in the tables, warned Mary Watts, headteacher of Appleton CofE Primary School, near Oxford.

The school has 106 pupils and its performance has fluctuated widely in recent years.

Mrs Watts said: "In small schools, small groups of children can really change a school's results quite dramatically because each child can be worth eight per cent of the total marks. Parents should really look for a school that meets their children's needs."

That message was echoed by Mark Forder, secretary of the Oxfordshire branch of the National Union of Teachers, who described the tables as "absolutely worthless".

He said: "The scores children get in tests relate to the area of housing they come from -- those in deprived areas score lower.

"Parents should choose on the basis of a visit to the school or speak to parents of children at a school.

"Numbers can be misleading. Every year teachers find problems with these tests. They are inconsistent from year to year, there are problems with marking and we have no confidence in them.

"To find out how a child is performing you need to talk to the teacher, not look at the results of these tests."

Tony Crabbe, the member of Oxfordshire County Council's executive board with responsibility for schools, welcomed the improvement in Oxfordshire's results but warned of the limitations of league tables.

He said: "I'm delighted that Oxfordshire has exceeded the national average and I'm particularly happy that we have improved achievement levels in mathematics.

"You have to be careful when interpreting league tables because they tend to give raw information and take no account of the social background that a school serves."