THE Scottish Office yesterday made direct comparisons between the

performance in examinations of local authority and independent schools

in a bulletin about the uptake of assisted places.

According to the statistics, nearly #10m was spent on the scheme in

school session 1992-3. More than 3000 pupils benefited, with an average

of #3200 being spent on each place.

The scheme helps parents who could not otherwise afford to send their

child to a fee-paying school.

The Scottish Office produced tables which showed that the performance

between local authority and independent school pupils in Standard Grade

exams had widened, with the former gaining an average of four and the

latter 6.5 in the top grades.

Assisted pupils were presented on average for nearly one more Standard

Grade.