TEST results out today show Bolton 11-year-olds achieved some of the best and the worst results in the country. Local primary schools are named in both the top 200 roll of honour AND the bottom 200 list of shame published today. Top of the class locally were pupils at Walmsley CE Primary who were just a whisker away from the gold standard of 100pc in all three core subjects - English, Maths and Science.

Before setting off for secondary school, the class of 98 did well enough in their tests to catapult the school to number 29 in the top 200 schools in the country.

Walmsley has always tended to do well in the league tables, but this is the first time their oldest pupils have achieved Bolton's number one slot.

Headteacher Mrs Pat Ashton said: "Parents, children staff and governors at Walmsley CE Primary School are pleased at this year's performance.

"League tables, however, do not give the total achievement of any school."

Former pupils at St Brendan's RC in Bolton and Turton Edgworth CE & Methodist also gave their teachers something to celebrate by earning both schools places in the top 200 national roll of honour. St Brendan's came 100th and Turton 108th. Mrs Ashton's comments will come as some comfort to those schools which did not fare so well and believe the league tables do not fairly reflect the work they do.

Bottom of the Bolton class this year is Johnson Fold County Primary, where only four per cent of pupils managed to pass science tests for their age, 13pc Maths and 33pc English. Along with Top o' th' Brow County Primary and St Matthew's CE, the school achieved some of the worse test results in the country and all three are listed in the bottom 200 schools nationally. But four Bolton Schools are celebrating after taking the Government's "can do better" message to heart and boosting results.

Roscow Fold, Gilnow, St Brendan's RC and St Catherine's CE all reported much better results than in 1996 and were listed in the top 200 most improved schools nationally. Also on the same improving list is Westleigh Methodist in Leigh which was recently put into special measures by Ofsted for failing to raise standards fast enough.

Schools in surrounding areas to be included in the top 200 national league tables are Bury schools Holly Mount, Greenmount and Greenhill; Wigan schools St Mary and St John RC and Our Lady and All Saints and Boothstown Methodist Primary.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.