THE head of a Bolton sixth form college was so angry about the way the performance of his students was portrayed in new Government league tables that he has drawn up his own alternative table.

The Department for Education and Skills ranked Bolton Sixth Form College eighth out of nine institutions in Bolton in the 2002 performance tables for A levels.

The official tables showed average point scores achieved by pupils at A level per student and per entry.

But Bolton Sixth Form College Principal Roy Whittle has criticised the tables saying they are unfair because his college has a larger number of students from a wider range of backgrounds and academic abilities than the other institutions.

He said: "We at Bolton Sixth Form College were delighted with our 99 per cent pass rate at A level and delighted with our results overall.

"The published league tables take no account of value-added factors -- that is the qualfications of students when they join us compared to what they achieve when they leave, and they do not reflect the size of the entry. We have a lot more students than many other centres."

Mr Whittle's concerns have prompted him to compile tables where each college or school's results are compared based on a similar number of entries which he claims is a more realistic like-for-like basis.

In his alternative table, Bolton Sixth Form College is ranked fourth, ahead Rivington and Blackrod, Thornleigh, Turton and Westhoughton. Mr Whittle's comparisons show:

Canon Slade, average score of 362.3 from 117 entered; BSFC an average of 311.7 of its top 125 students.

Rivington and Blackrod, an average score of 267.1 from 103 entered: BSFC an average of 311.7 from its top 105 students.

Thornleigh, an average of 266.2 from 140 entered; BSFC an average of 287.4 from its top 150 students.

Turton, an average of 266.7 from 177 entered; BSFC an average of 272.7 from its top 181 students.

Westhoughton, an average of 278.4 from 43 entered; BSFC an average of 371.2 from its top 40 students.

According to Government statistics Bolton Sixth Form College achieved 192.6 points per student and 62.5 points per entry.

Mr Whittle added: "The college is proud to take large numbers who may not be offered opportunities elsewhere and is very proud of its performance when compared on a like-for-like basis."