Westminster was again the top school for A-level results in England in 2008, according to the FT’s rankings. It still maintains a good few lengths ahead of the other schools in the racing paddock by virtue of the number of exams that its pupils sit. But it is difficult to find a flaw in its performance, since it also has the highest proportion of grade As – 92 per cent – of any school.

The unusual feature of the top end of this year’s table is the three strong risers coming into the top five. Perse School for Girls, Cambridge, Magdalen College School, Oxford, and Queen Elizabeth’s School, north London, are all in the top five for the first time, having been ranked in the teens the previous year.