CANFORD School near Wimborne has been named as the best fee-paying school in Dorset for A and AS level results in figures released today by the Independent Schools Council.

But especially gratifying for staff and parents will be the appearance of Wentworth College in the top eight. The college, in Bournemouth, was recently placed in administration before being saved from closure by the United Church Schools Trust. When the school reopens in September, it will be welcoming its first ever boy pupils.

Schools are ranked by the average points score per candidate among students taking two or more A levels, excluding general studies. The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) awards between 120 points for a grade A at A-level and 40 points for an E grade. AS level points range from 60 for an A grade to 20 for an E.

The average points score among Canford's A level and AS level students was 372 and the average for just A levels 334. Second in the table with a combined average of 370 points was Leweston, the girls' Catholic school near Sherborne; and third was Sherborne School for Girls with 365.

Bryanston near Blandford was in fourth place; Talbot Heath girls' school in Bournemouth fifth; St Mary's girls' school near Shaftesbury sixth; Wentworth seventh and Clayesmore near Blandford eighth.

The ISC says just over half of A levels entries from 31,657 candidates in its 468 schools nationally gained grade A, compared to the national average of 25.9 per cent. The pass rate for grades A to E was 99.4 per cent, compared to the national average of 97.2 per cent. More than three-quarters of A levels passed at ISC schools were grades A or B, compared to the natio-nal average of just over half.

ISC chairman Dame Judith Mayhew Jonas said: "It is pleasing to see that more pupils across all education sectors are passing A- levels. While the indepen-dent sector can clearly be proud of the performance of pupils at its schools, this is a time to focus on celebrating the success of all the individuals concerned, whatever their background."

Acting chief executive, Matthew Burgess, added: "This significant result from a large sample of ISC schools sends a clear message to parents and those involved with education as to the benefits of attending independent schools."