AVERAGE A-level grades for students in Swindon are some of the lowest in the country, according to government figures.

Swindon Academy topped the charts for its Key Stage 4 marks but its 2018/19 sixth form A-level results revealed that no students achieved grades of AAB or higher and their average grade was D.

Other sixth forms in the Swindon area did not fare much better. When ranked with thousands of schools in the rest of the UK, their average points place low in the table.

Swindon Academy’s average of 21.03 points were the lowest in the area and placed in the bottom 160 schools nationwide, while Lydiard Park Academy’s average of 31.72 was the highest in Swindon and placed it in the lower half of the 2,600 schools listed.

Ridgeway headteacher and head of Swindon Association of Secondary Headteachers James Povoas suggested that the figures only showed "part of the picture".

He said: “The outcomes are important but it's also about equipping students with the skills they need so that they become well-rounded and have great opportunities going forward.

"Parents can look at the data but they have to visit the schools and see the classrooms and the culture there before deciding whether they want their children to go there.

"Out of the 37 subjects we offer at A Level, 11 are counted for the AAB percentage so it''s not a fair indicator of how well students are doing.

"For some, like those who go on to study music at university, these subjects are not relevant to the future they want and they can be successful without them.

"We are really happy that 91 per cent of Ridgeway students are going to their intended destinations, whether it's university or apprenticeships or employment.

"The grades a student gets opens the door to their interview but it's who they are as a person in that interview that really determines their success. We are committed to continual improvement of our outcomes."

New College students achieved an average grade of a low C and 3.9 per cent of Year 13s achieved grades of AAB.

The Ridgeway School and Sixth Form results averaged at a C grade with 13.3 per cent achieving AAB.

The Commonweal School’s further education qualifications averaged a C with 7.7 per cent of pupils getting AAB.

Lydiard Park Academy’s A Level results averaged a high C yet only 2.5 per cent of students achieved AAB or higher.

Royal Wootton Bassett Academy did best with the same average grade as Lydiard Park but with 15 per cent achieving AAB, and made it into the top half of the national table with an average of 34.9 points.