A CHURCH of England comprehensive in Tower Hamlets, one of  the poorest London boroughs, has made history by appearing in three top secondary-school league tables published last month by the Department for Education and Skills.

For the third successive year, Sir John Cass and Redcoat led the list of the 100 most improved schools in England, this time sharing first place with a community school in Kent. It was also among the 50 schools with the best "value- added" scores, where pupils' results aged 16 are compared with their achievement at 11. And, for the first time, it was also listed as one of the 50 top comprehensives in England.

The London diocesan director of education, Tom Peryer, said that this was largely due to the commitment of the head teacher, Haydn Evans. "It has been remarked that an effective head is the nearest thing we have to a magic wand. That is certainly true of Mr Evans."
 
The top 50 comprehensives included eight other Anglican schools. They were Lady Margaret School, Fulham, west London; the King's School, Peterborough; St Aidan's High, Harrogate; the St Marylebone School, London; Bishop Stopford School, Kettering; Archbishop Temple High, Preston; Debenham High, Stowmarket; and Sexey's School, Bruton, Somerset.

Two other C of E schools, St Luke's, Portsmouth, and Canon Williamson High, Salford, were among the most improved schools.

The 50 top grammar schools included St Olave's & St Saviour's, Orpington, and Wilson's School, Wallington, both Anglican voluntary aided schools. St Olave's & St Saviour's was also among the 100 schools with the best A-level results, a list dominated by the independent sector.