MILLIONS of pounds invested in Oxfordshire schools which have achieved specialist status is paying off in the shape of GCSE success, according to the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust.

A report shows that 59 per cent of pupils in Oxfordshire's specialist schools achieved five or more A*-C GCSE grades compared to 58 per cent in specialist schools nationally and 46.7 per cent in non-specialist schools nationally.

Specialist schools now account for some 80 per cent of all mainstream maintained secondary schools and most Oxfordshire comprehensives have achieved a specialism or are working towards ones.

Each has to raise £500,000 itself for the status, before being given extra money, which varies according to the number of pupils it has.

The report, Educational Outcomes and Value Added by Specialist Schools, found that specialist schools performed better than non-specialist schools across the board.

Of the Oxfordshire schools which achieved the status by 2004, 12 recorded better GCSE results in 2005 than predicted, based on performance at Key Stage Two, nine did worse than expected and two performed in line with expectations.

The Government's controversial Academies were shown to add the most value nationally, with results about six per cent higher than predicted.

Humanities, science and technology specialisms also ranked highly in the value added catergory.

This was reflected in some of the county's results where the schools which added the most value were specialist science colleges Matthew Arnold and The Cherwell schools in Oxford, specialist technology college St Birinus School, Didcot, and The Marlborough School, Woodstock, which has specialist status in humanities along with business and enter- prise.

Specialist Schools and Academies Trust chairman, Sir Cyril Taylor, said: "This report confirms what we already knew, that specialist schools are making a huge contribution to raising educational standards and are having a positive impact on the millions of students who pass through them."

Oxfordshire County Council's head of educational effectiveness, Judith Morris, said: "Almost all Oxfordshire secondary schools have achieved specialist status in at least one area and a number have achieved a second specialism.

"The remaining schools are working towards gaining specialist status in the near future and several others are seeking to gain a second specialism, which can only be gained by demonstrating high achievement."