The stories behind the league tables

More than 100 secondary schools face being closed and reopened as academies for failing to meet government targets ( Report , 27 January). Yet of the 200 schools with the lowest percentage of pupils achieving five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C, 53 are academies. The worst performing school is an academy in Poole , which managed to reduce the percentage of pupils achieving the standard from 21% for its predecessor school, to 3% now. Of the 200 best performers , only one is an academy. The government's own data would appear to indicate that the policy of forcing failing schools to become academies is a recipe for failure. Paul Dennehy Enfield, Middlesex • Whether or not you agree with the methods used to judge schools' performance, the latest figures show – contrary to recent opinion ( Gove condemns academy critics as 'ideologues' who embrace failure , 5 January) – that schools in Haringey are improving and at a faster rate than the country as a whole. Across the borough there has been a 9.3% rise since 2010 in the proportion of students attaining five or more A* to C grades, including English and maths. This means results in Haringey have improved by 15.2% since 2008, compared with a national rise of 10.7%. We believe close, local collaboration and strong working relationships with schools will best support and improve educational outcomes for all young people, including the most vulnerable. A quarter of all primary and a third of all secondary schools in Haringey are currently judged to be outstanding by Ofsted. Cllr Lorna Reith Cabinet member for children, Haringey council