FARNHAM secondary schools are among the county's best performers at GCSE in 2004, according to the latest league tables published this week. The Department for Education and Skills results show the proportion of Surrey pupils achieving five or more A to C grades is 58.6 per cent, with the national average 53.7 per cent. The top achieving comprehensive school in town was Weydon School, where 73 per cent of its 199 pupils who sat last year's GCSE examination achieved five or more A to C grades. In all 95 per cent of students achieved five or more A to G passes at GCSE. Lynne Jackson, headteacher for the past seven years, said: "We were extraordinarily pleased with our performance last year, it was six per cent up on the best we have ever done before. The school had previously never done better than achieving 67 per cent students passing five or more A to C grades." Mrs Jackson said much of its GCSE success had come over a long period of time, with teachers working hard with individual children and groups of students over the last five years. "It's now beginning to pay dividends," she said. "The other thing which has made a significant difference is that we have been quite fortunate in our teaching staff. "We have excellent teachers and even when there has been teacher shortages we have been able generally to get good quality teachers, because it is a nice place to work." At All Hallows Catholic School in Weybourne Road, a creditable 70 per cent of students who took the exams achieved five passes at A to C. David Hoggins, the head of Farnham Heath End School, where 57 per cent of GCSE pupils achieved five or more A to C grades, said that he was pleased with the grades which students had achieved. Although the percentage of A to C passes was slightly below the Surrey average, Mr Hoggins stressed the importance of the value added indicator, which showed the school was performing well. He said that the percentage of children taking examinations was also important. "We are pleased with our results, as are the parents and students," he said. Mr Hoggins said the school achieved its target for the 2004 GCSE results and had high hopes for this year. Among the private schools to publish its results was Frensham Heights School in Rowledge, where 97 per cent achieved five or more grades A to C grades. Just seven 15-year-olds at the Three Counties Education Trust school in Frensham Road, Lower Bourne, took GCSEs. The school, currently the subject of a planning appeal, after Waverley Borough Council refused retrospective planning consent for change of use, passed with flying colours, with all its pupils reaching the standard of five A-C passes. Pass rates for pupils achieving five or more A to G grades also remains very high with 91.2 per cent achieving the threshold, said a spokesman for Surrey County Council Surrey's total point score of 353 is also well about the national average of 340.3. The proportion of pupils with no passes has fallen from 3.8 per cent in 2003 to 3.5 per cent in 2004, showing the impact of current efforts to ensure pupil attendance and continued engagement within the national curriculum.