PARENTS have called for more to be done to improve Oxfordshire schools after test results showed the county was now lagging behind elsewhere in the South East.

The delayed publication of Key Stage 3 results, undertaken by 14-year-olds, showed that while Oxfordshire pupils scored higher than the average for England, fewer children reached the benchmark grades in English and maths than the average for the South East.

The figures come 18 months after Oxfordshire schools chief Janet Tomlinson said county pupils were performing worse than those in other affluent counties.

Gill Jaggers, whose son, Joe Marinari, sat the tests at Cheney School, Headington, last year, said: “Nothing seems to have changed in recent years and there is no progress being made.

“The attitude seems to be ‘let’s carry on’ and I’m not particularly happy with that.”

Ms Jaggers, who also has a 13-year old, Maria, and an 11-year old, Leo, said while she believed her own children would perform well, other children were not achieving their potential. She said: “I would like to know what the plans are and if anybody is trying to address it.”

The SATs were supposed to be published last summer, but were delayed over concerns about the quality of the marking.

Last October, the Government announced they would be the last group of 14-year-olds to sit the tests.

A total of 74 per cent of Oxfordshire children achieved the benchmark level 5 in English, 77 per cent in maths, and 73 per cent in science.

Those levels were reached by 75 per cent of all children in the South East in English, 78 per cent in maths and 73 per cent in science.

The average points scores for Oxfordshire children were also lower than the regional average.

And a lower percentage of pupils obtained the benchmark levels last year than in 2007 in each of the three tests, with four per cent less children making the grade in English or science and one per cent less in maths — although changes to the marking criteria mean the results are not directly comparable.

Tracey Richens, from Goslyn Close, Headington, has two children in the school system – four-year-old Robbie who will start school next year and 11-year-old Tenisha, who will start at St Gregory’s School in September.

Miss Richens said: “With some schools, they give you all this stuff about how they are going to improve things, and then it just doesn’t happen. It would be nice to see things happen.”

Oxfordshire County Council’s director for children, young people and families, Janet Tomlinson, said: “There is acknowledgment throughout the county that performance which is as good as or slightly better than the national average is not good enough.

“We want to see Oxfordshire comparing more favourably with its neighbours.

“It will remain our highest priority and the driving force behind our work over the next four years.”

In 2007, 78 per cent of county children achieved Level 5 in English, 78 per cent in maths and 77 per cent in science.

The results achieved by Oxfordshire pupils were above the South East averages of 76 per cent in English, 78 per cent in maths and 75 per cent in science.

But the Government has said the figures were not directly comparable because of changes in the marking system.