League tables released today show a wide variation between primary schools in Sussex, which range from the excellent to the execrable.

These tables were widely derided when they first appeared but they have since become an indispensable guide as to how schools are faring.

They are a rough-and-ready indication to parents, pupils and teachers about whether schools are on the up or down.

Tables can also be useful for families seeking to decide, in these days of parental choice, which school would best suited for their children.

Overall, the results are as expected. They are above average in West Sussex, one of the wealthiest counties in England, and below average in East Sussex, which has substantial pockets of poverty.

League tables up and down the country are often connected to affluence and deprivation, with the worst performing schools in areas of greatest poverty.

The worst record of any school in Sussex belongs to Whitehawk Primary in Brighton. But this school serves an estate which has had severe social problems for many years and where half the pupils have special needs.

At the other end of the scale was St Michael's Primary School in Rye, which had uniformly excellent results.

The value of tables is in seeing whether poor performing schools are improving and whether others are reaching their full potential.