The Education Department has announced plans to publish league tables based on provisional data drawn from GCSE results. It is hoped this will give parents the up-to-date information they need when it comes to choosing secondary schools in England. 

Parents submitting applications for secondary school places this month, for pupils to start in September 2016, will be able to make use of the tables, which will include information regarding the number of students achieving five or more A*-to-Cs in the national exams. 

Full secondary school league tables are to be published in January. 

However, head teachers have warned that the new table will not be entirely accurate and could even be misleading. This is due to the fact that the data is based on the results handed out in August, which is before the appeals processes have taken place, and therefore it will not include subsequent changes to grades following re-marks. 

This could cause quite a significant change, as in 2014, 54,000 GCSE grades were changed after being questioned. 

Schools minister Nick Gibb believes it will enable parents to make a more informed decision however. 

The Department for Education said: "By improving the timeliness and accessibility of these statistics, this will also mean that results are published in advance of the 31 October deadline for secondary school admission applications.

"This will support parents who may wish to use the information when applying for a secondary school place for their child."

Brian Lightman, Association of School and College Leaders general secretary, told BBC News that there are “serious problems” with the information being published early. 

"There is a real risk that the information being published early will not accurately reflect the achievements of some schools, and this may have a damaging effect on them and give parents an impression which is not correct,” he said.