AN enlightened educational policy of seating boys next to girls has seen a Farnham secondary school buck national trends in male academic performance.

Heath End School has this year produced GCSE results which revealed that male students achieved 65 per cent pass rate at higher grades (A-C) 12 per cent higher than female students.

Head teacher David Hoggins felt it was a combination of several factors which improved results for boys.

These included the general culture of the school, and teaching standards, though the seating policy introduced two years ago had been particularly significant.

He explained that it was not a "rigid" arrangement, but allowed teachers to decide where best to place pupils in the class, to create the most conducive work environment.

The apparent winning formula for improving school achievement resulted in a recent visit from a school inspector eager to investigate the successful initiative.

"Looking down our exam lists, so many pupils (girls and boys) have done very well," said Mr Hoggins, who was "just as delighted" with those who had achieved better than expected grades as with those gaining the highest marks.

Mr Hoggins believed that their motto of encouraging students, "catching them being good" had also paid dividends, and that positive relations between pupils also contributed to their success.

The working day is also to be re-structured at the school, creating six work periods rather than four. Mr Hoggins felt this would enable increased study of a range of subjects, and would be more in tune with pupil concentration spans.

Another successful initiative at the school has been the removal of clanging school bells, which disrupted classes, has been introduced in an attempt to treat pupils in a more adult manner.

Speaking to some of the students last week, it was clear that they had enjoyed their time at Heath End, and that many had gained better than expected results.

Pupil Elanor Stride, who now intends to study at Farnham College, having received 8 A* grades was surprised at her results: "I really was not expecting to do so well,especially in maths," she said.

She felt that though there was some pressure on pupils to perform well, it was not excessive.

Marcus Johnson, who gained a range of grade B and C's was also pleased with his marks, and felt the exams were manageable, but not easy: "I did better than I expected, and will be going to study graphics at Farnborough Technology College, as I am good at drawing."

Although clearly impressed with the general results of the school, Mr Hoggins believed that for those few who had not succeed in the exams, low attendance was the key factor.