Challenge to league tables fails

An attempt by a headteachers' union to challenge government plans to publish primary school league tables was defeated in the High Court yesterday.

The National Association of Head Teachers had sought a judicial review of the way schools' performances are calculated in the tables, to be published in March. It said children who missed tests through absence and those with special needs should not be included in the results. The union failed to show that the Secretary of State had been unreasonable in deciding the basis for calculations.