The FT 1,000 league table of top schools may never be the same again following the decision by a group of leading private schools to help manage state schools, which in effect bridges the great divide in British education.

The Church Schools Company (CSCo) - founded in 1883 and housed in medieval cottages in a Northamptonshire village - wants to run some of the government's new city academies, independent state schools.

CSCo runs eight private schools - Ashford School; The Atherley School, Southampton; Caterham School; Guildford High School for Girls; Hull High School; Lincoln Minster School; Sunderland High and Surbiton High.

The company, which co-ordinates management bet-ween the schools, represents some of the country's finest schools. Guildford, for example, comes 30th in this year's FT 1,000 and Surbiton is 105th.

Eventually CSCo could run several city academies while also showing the way to others in the independent sector to take on management roles in the state sector. The government is look-ing for outsiders to run so-called "contract schools", although CSCo has no such plans.

It will concentrate on City Academies and has begun seeking sponsors from the business and charitable sectors. "As a sponsor we would be responsible for the appointment of a majority of governors who, with their colleagues, would be responsible for the appointment of staff, all curriculum details within the overall framework of the National Curriculum, the choice of specialism and governance - all areas in which we have considerable expertise," said Ewan Harper, chief executive of CSCo.

The move comes at a good time for private schools. The government is looking at the whole issue of charities and taxation. While assurances have been given that the private school sector is not under threat, any demonstration of a wider social role will help defend the historic charitable status of the schools.

The government's recent white paper on the future of secondary education also throws open other opportunities for the two sectors to work together - for example by allowing outsiders to run some departments in state schools. Some independent schools might wish to teach academic specialities, such as classics.

The other big chance for independent schools to become more actively involved in state education is the government's new "gifted and talented" programme. Up to five per cent of children in both sectors will be able to take part in special summer schools, weekend tutorials and online learning packages.

The private sector has been included in the programme, which is built along the lines of that pioneered in the US by Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. It is likely fees will be charged - with government support for those who cannot pay, identified on the basis of a means test.

The chairman of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference of top schools, Chris Brown of Norwich School, said this week the gifted and talented programme was a vital area of possible co-operation: "I would want to encourage greater co-operation and liaison, to avoid the suspicion of the past." Universities are bidding to become the UK- version of Johns Hopkins, with Warwick the strongest contender.

Within the state sector the biggest change looming on the horizon is the drive towards more specialist schools. By 2005 about 40 per cent of secondary schools will be specialist institutions. In addition to teaching the national curriculum they focus on an additional subject such as technology. Other specialisms are being added, including business and enterprise, engineering, and maths and science.

Some schools with an academic tradition more in line with the old grammar school ethos, or those that do not wish to sign up to the principle of selecting 10 per cent of their intake on aptitude, may resist specialist status.

"We are filling a role as a grammar school; we don't want the specialist school brand," one headmistress said. The government has promised these schools will not be forced into line, but most may find it difficult to spurn the extra resources that come with specialist status - about an extra £120 a year per pupil plus a large capital boost.

Top 50 schools
Rank	School	FT score	Sex	Type	Day (£)	Boarding (£)
1	Westminster School, London	1.58	B	IDy	13,305	17,712
2	Winchester College, Winchester	1.54	B	IBd	17,442	18,360
3	North London Collegiate, Edgware	1.50	G	IDy	7,608	-
4	St Paul's School, London	1.47	B	IDy	11,085	16,485
5	St Paul's Girls' School, London	1.47	G	IDy	8,823	-
6	Wycombe Abbey School, High Wycombe	1.45	G	IBd	13,050	17,400
7	Oxford High School, Oxford	1.45	G	IDy	5,442	-
8	Haberdashers' Aske's, Borehamwood	1.45	B	IDy	8,250	-
9	Tonbridge School, Tonbridge	1.44	B	IBd	12,630	17,874
10	Perse School, Cambridge	1.44	B	IDy	7,356	-
11	Perse School for Girls, Cambridge	1.43	G	IDy	6,900	-
12	King's College School, London	1.42	B	IDy	9,930	-
13	Eton College, Windsor	1.42	B	IBd	-	17,604
14	Badminton School, Bristol	1.41	G	IBd	9,390	16,680
15	Rugby School, Rugby	1.41	M	IBd	14,040	17,550
16	St Mary's School, Calne	1.39	G	IBd	11,250	17,100
17	King Edward VI High Girls, Birmingham	1.38	G	IDy	6,060	-
18	Sevenoaks School, Sevenoaks	1.38	M	IDy	11,214	17,535
19	James Allen's Girls' School, London	1.37	G	IDy	7,992	-
20	Cheltenham Ladies' College, Cheltenham	1.37	G	IBd	11,520	17,310
21	Withington Girls School, Manchester	1.36	G	IDy	5,418	-
22	Haberdashers' Aske's for Girls, Elstree	1.36	G	IDy	6,525	-
23	Headington School, Oxford	1.36	G	IDy	7,485	13,650
24	Whitgift School, South Croydon	1.35	B	IDy	8,514	-
25	Lady Eleanor Holles, Hampton	1.35	G	IDy	7,824	-
26	Manchester Grammar School, Manchester	1.35	B	IDy	5,670	-
27	The Mount School, York	1.35	G	IDy	8,109	13,680
28	Tiffin Girls, Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey	1.34	G	G	-	-
29	Charterhouse, Godalming	1.34	B	IBd	14,541	17,598
30	Guildford High for Girls, Guildford	1.34	G	IDy	7,482	-
31	St Swithun's School, Winchester	1.34	G	IDy	9,315	15,375
32	King Edward's School, Birmingham	1.33	B	IDy	6,216	-
33	Abingdon School, Abingdon	1.33	B	IDy	7,779	14,208
34	Nottingham High School, Nottingham	1.33	B	IDy	6,906	-
35	Merchant Taylors' School, Northwood	1.32	B	IDy	9,120	15,318
36	Chelmsford County High, Chelmsford	1.32	G	FG	-	-
37	Godolphin & Latymer School, London	1.32	G	IDy	7,935	-
38	Canford School, Wimborne	1.32	M	IBd	-	-
39	Notre Dame Senior School, Cobham	1.31	G	IDy	7,125	-
40	Abbey School,The, Reading	1.31	G	IDy	6,300	-
41	Tormead School, Guildford	1.31	G	IDy	7,170	-
42	King Edward VI Grammar, Chelmsford	1.31	B	FG	-	-
43	St Mary's School, South Ascot	1.31	G	IBd	11,040	16,440
44	Magdalen College School, Oxford	1.31	B	IDy	7,080	-
45	St Catherine's School, Guildford	1.30	G	IDy	8,040	13,215
46	St Albans High for Girls, St. Albans	1.30	G	IDy	6,810	-
47	Loughborough High School, Loughborough	1.30	G	IDy	5,787	-
48	Radley College, Abingdon	1.30	B	IBd	-	17,550
49	South Hampstead High School, London	1.30	G	IDy	6,624	-
50	Twycross House, Atherstone	1.30	M	IDy	4,890	-
Key
B = Boy
G = Girl
IDy = independent day
IBd = independent boarding
G = Grammar
FG = Foundation Grammar

This year's table has two specialist schools in the top 10 state schools - Chelmsford County High and Pate's Grammar, Gloucestershire. There are 26 in the top 100, 51 in the top 200 and a total of 140 out of the 516 state schools included.

Pate's is the top language college, 59th overall. The top technology college is Chelmsford (36th), the top arts college St Aidan & St John Fishers, North Yorkshire, (292nd) and the top sports college, Dr Challoner's High, Buckinghamshire (172).

It is worth noting that city technology colleges - 15 of which were founded by the Conservatives and provided the seeds for the specialist school programme - do not perform as well at A Level as at GCSE. They were set up in disadvantaged areas to improve standards through radical reforms. Only Emmanuel CTC, Gateshead, makes the league table of the top 30 technology specialist schools based on A Level performance.

Another government re-form - the creation of so-called "beacon" schools to spread best practice in their area - is also represented in the FT 1,000. Of 10 "beacons", the best placed is Watford Grammar School for Girls, at 183rd.

Tiffin Girls, Kingston-upon-Thames, a grammar school, is, at 28th, the leading state school. Five years ago it was ranked 177th, moving to 112th, 70th and 69th. This remarkable track record shows consistency over time and an ability to improve rank position at the top where it is most difficult.

Grammars take the top 15 state school places. They are still able to select their intake on the basis of academic ability - 165 remain in spite of legislation allowing ballots on their survival.

Chelmsford County High is the second highest state school, with King Edward VI Grammar, also at Chelmsford, third.

The best-placed comprehensive is Impington Village College, Cambridge. (Cambridge also had the best sixth-form college - the consistently excellent Hills Road Sixth Form College.) Impington, ranked 161st, is rare in offering the International Baccalaureate as well as A Levels.

This is likely to become more common as reforming schools pioneer the idea of a broader post-16 curriculum. One of these is Kingshurst CTC, Birmingham. Its spin-off company, 3E's Enterprises, is already running other state schools.

The second highest-placed comprehensive is Eirias High, Colwyn Bay, with Hasmonean High, Mill Hill, London, third, Watford Grammar School for Girls fourth, and Watford Grammar School for Boys fifth.

But the summit of the FT 1,000 is once again dominated by the great independent schools. The top five shuffle places - with Westminster now top over Winchester - and North London Collegiate jumping to third, pushing St Paul's School and St Paul's Girls' School each down one place.

Withington Girls, Manchester, fell from 7th to 21st, while Tonbridge School, Kent, rose from 33rd to ninth. Rugby continued its renaissance, finishing 15th, two places behind Eton. Last year it was 18th with Eton at 26th. The achievement of Tiffin Girls in topping the state table marks the first such triumph over boys since 1997. North London Collegiate's jump to third in the table marks the high point for girls in the overall FT 1,000 - although several schools do now take girls into their sixth forms.

Analysis by Tim Devlin, the educational consultant, of figures provided by ISIS, the umbrella organisation for private schools, indicates that girls have a big impact on the performance of mixed sixth forms. For example at Rugby, 81 per cent of A Level papers secured an A or B grade - but the differential was 76 per cent for boys and 89 per cent for girls. But at Westminster the boys did better with figures of 93.3 per cent overall, 93.57 per cent and 92.82 per cent.