TWO South Lakeland primary schools are in the limelight this week after being named top of the form in the latest primary school performance tables.

Every 11-year-old pupil at both Allithwaite CE and Penny Bridge CE primaries managed to achieve at least the expected level in their English, maths and science SATS tests, placing the schools among the nation's top achievers.

Penny Bridge head teacher Ivan Smith said the school was very pleased with its results, which were boosted by a large proportion of children clinching level fives' a cut above the level four benchmark.

"It was a particularly hard-working cohort," he said, but noted his distaste for performance tables. "You can work really hard with the children and make really good progress and it wouldn't show up in the tables. If they get a level three, it can be a really good result for them."

At Allithwaite, there was also satisfaction with the school's scores but head teacher Ruth Wall echoed Mr Smith's comments that individual children's progress was of prime importance.

Hard work from pupils and teachers also saw top-ranking results from Dalton-in-Furness primaries St Mary's and Our Lady of the Rosary, alongside Crosscrake and Arnside.

Across the county, performance in English, maths and science outstripped the national average by some two to three percentage points, although the results fell short of the Government's ambitious targets.

In English, 77.1 per cent of Cumbrian pupils managed a level four or more below the magic 85 per cent goal. And for the second year running in Cumbria, there was no improvement in the English results.

The sums fared little better for maths where 75.4 per cent of children reached the required standard, missing the minister's target by 5.6 percentage points.

But Cumbria County Council's director of education John Nellist was not crestfallen. "There is much to celebrate," he said. "Over the past four years, we have seen an 11 per cent rise in the number of 11-year-olds achieving the standard expected of them in English, the figure for maths is 14 per cent, for science 16 per cent."

He also pointed to "impressive" gains in the numbers of children picking up level fives.

"[These results] reflect well on the commitment and expertise of many teachers and many schools which have achieved real success in raising the attainment of pupils across the full ability range. They, and we, have every right to celebrate this year's successes."

He said the targets for 2004 would be even more challenging, but added the county would be focusing on tackling under-achievement rather than the headline figures.

"We will be working with schools to identify barriers to higher attainment. The notion that in 2004 pupils will achieve their full potential is surely a prize worth striving for."