PUPILS in East and West Sussex are getting better exam results than ever before.

But Brighton and Hove children are still falling behind, according to Government figures released today.

National Government league tables show children in the East and West of the county are getting higher GCSE and A-level grades than ever before.

But students in Brighton and Hove have fallen further below average than last year, slipping slightly from 42.2 per cent of pupils gaining five GCSEs from grades A* to C to 42.1 per cent.

And teenagers in West Sussex are outclassing their fellow pupils.

A total of 53.7 per cent of pupils in the county achieved five or more GCSE at grades A* to C with the figure standing at 49.6 per cent in East Sussex.

Nationally, the number of students achieving five GCSEs at grade C and above has risen from 46.3 per cent in 1998 to 47.9 per cent this year.

The tables show an increase in results in West and East Sussex and the fall in Brighton and Hove.

Brighton and Hove High School in Montpelier Road, Brighton, was named as one of the top 200 schools in the country with 100 per cent of pupils getting five GCSEs at grade A* to C.

Rodean School in Rodean Way, Brighton, was also named as one of the best schools in the country for its A-level results.

But figures also showed The Grove School in Darwell Close and Helenswood School in The Cleeve, both in St Leonards-on-Sea, were among the worst in the country for high truancy rates.

And poor results at Buckswood Grange Independent School in Uckfield left it as one of the worst schools in the country for its GCSE and A levels.

Staff at Felpham Community College in Goodwood Avenue, Bognor Regis, and Haywards Heath Community College, Harlands Road, were rewarded for their efforts with the colleges recognised as two of the top state schools whose A-level results had improved every year since 1996.

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