THREE East Lancashire primary schools have been named in the top 100 in the country.

Staff and pupils at Barrow Primary School, which came sixth, Ribchester St Wilfrid’s CofE VA Primary School, which was placed 43rd, and 69th-ranked Gisburn Primary School, are celebrating 100 per cent of Year Six children achieving at least a level four in reading, writing and maths in their Key Stage Two SATs.

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However one of the region’s schools, St Mary’s RC Primary School, in Bacup, featured on the lowest 100 performing schools list.

The publication of the performance tables came as Simon Jones, Lancashire’s National Union of Teachers representative, criticised them for “not reflecting the differing environments schools operate within”.

Christine Marchi, head teacher at Barrow Primary, said she was delighted by her pupils’ success.

She said: “We are really happy and when we found out we were sixth in the country, we were just jumping up and down.

“We knew the children had done really well because we have got children who work really, really hard.

“We have also got staff who are fantastic and who stay here.

“As a team, we work really well together and we are always trying our best for the children.” It is a never ending emphasis on what is best for them.

“It is really nice to celebrate and when we told the children about it, the were just absolutely delighted.”

Angela Cottam, who leads St Wilfrid’s, said: “We are amazed and pleased.

“It is all down to the hard work of the children and staff.

“It is not just all about tests, it is about educating the whole child. That all leads to a cross-curricular approach.

“We try to make the curriculum interesting so they enjoy learning.”

Catherine Grimshaw, head teacher at Gisburn Primary, said she was proud of her school’s achievements.

She said: “The children work very hard. They are keen to learn and are well-motivated.

“They always try their best and we are a really happy, hard-working school.”

“We work very closely together to make sure every child achieves their potential.”

Nobody from St Mary’s in Bacup was available for comment.

The NUT’s Mr Jones said he believed league tables were a “crude measure” of attainment.

He added: “It fails to reflect much of the crucial work carried out by schools who support pupils in the most challenging circumstances.

“An overzealous focus on SATs is often at the expense‎ of the broader educational experience for primary children. Many children feel utterly anxious and worried throughout their last year in primary school as they build up to the test.

“This is placing entirely unnecessary pressure on very young children.”