1.1 Is it better for the Government to compile no statistics rather than performance tables that appear to be unhelpful, if not dangerous? Since 1996 the UK Government’s Department for Education and Employment has published performance tables for schools. Tables for secondary schools present statistics on such things as examination performance and the extent of unauthorised absence. These tables appear to be very useful for parents wishing to find out which school to send their child to, rather than having to rely on a school’s reputation in the area or trying to make a judgement based on meeting the headteacher.

One of the prime measures for a school teaching 16-year-olds, the school leaving age, is the percentage of students achieving good grades in nationally recognised qualifications.

These are the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) and General National Vocational Qualification (GNVQ). Performance statistics are produced for each school, showing the trend in its achievement for recent years, its position against other schools in the same local education authority, and comparison with national statistics.