Students in Barnet are performing well above the national average in their Key Stage 3 exams taken at the age of 14, figures published last week reveal.

The results from last May's tests, taken when pupils were in Year 9, show that in three borough schools, 100 per cent of pupils achieved a level 5 or above pass in the key subjects of English, maths and science.

Julian Ward, the deputy headteacher of one of those schools, St Michael's Grammar School, in Nether Street, Finchley, said: "Obviously we are very pleased but what we are really happy about is our value-added score, which is the important thing as it shows how we have helped our pupils." The 'value-added' measure, which shows children's progress since leaving primary school three years earlier, is considered by some to be a better indication of the success of a school as it portrays how much a child has improved.

The national average percentage of pupils achieving level 5 in English is 74 per cent but the average in Barnet is 82 per cent. In maths, 80 per cent of children in the borough achieved level 5 or above in maths, compared to a national average of 74 per cent.

Barnet Council's cabinet member for education, Councillor John Marshall, said: "It is great that Barnet school children have once again done much better than children elsewhere and is a tribute to the hard work of schools."

Results also show that only 32 per cent of the pupils at Whitefield School, in Claremont Road, Cricklewood, achieved a level 5 or above grade in science well below the national average of 70 per cent and the borough average of 74 per cent. Mr Marshall said: "We need to look how far Whitefield has improved over a number of years and how much better it will continue to do in the future. It has done really well in recent Ofsted inspections and its 'value-added' score is better."

Key Stage 3 results are thought to be a good indication of how well pupils will do in their GCSEs.