Primary pupils in Oxfordshire are continuing to do better at school than most youngsters across Britain, according to education performance tables published today.

But the proportion of 11-year-old children gaining the expected standard in mathematics and science tests has fallen slightly since last year.

Today's tables reveal that primary pupils in Oxfordshire performed better than the national average in all of the three national curriculum tests in English, mathematics and science.

And the proportion of youngsters gaining the level four - the standard expected for their age group - improved on last year's figures for English, but dropped slightly in science and mathematics.

This means the county's schools face a tough challenge to hit demanding targets, set by the Government, which the local education authority must reach by 2002. A total of 66 per cent of Oxfordshire children reached the expected level in English, 60.6 per cent in mathematics and 73 per cent in science. This compares with a national average of 64.1 per cent in English, 57.9 per cent in mathematics and 68.6 per cent in science.

Today's results are likely to intensify arguments in favour of restructuring of the city's education system, which some have blamed the system of first, middle and upper schools for poorer academic standards.

There are no middle schools in the top 50 Oxfordshire schools. The best performing was Frideswide CE Middle, Marston Ferry Road, which was ranked at number 57.

County education spokesman John Mitchell said: "We're very pleased to see that the figures exceed the average for the rest of the country and the credit for that is down to the hard work of teachers and pupils.

"We're looking to improve our performance still further and believe we're on track to reach targets of 85 per cent in English and 76 per cent in mathematics. "We're pleased to see we've got a proportionally high number of schools in the top 200 nationally, although we're wary of the merits of ranking schools in this way, given the extent to which results can be skewed by the presence of a few pupils with special educational needs."

Discussing achievement in Oxford city, he added: "We know there are significant numbers of children in middle schools who do very well. Unfortunately, school averages come out lower because of the year group results as a whole."

TOPS - THIRD YEAR RUNNING

It was gold stars all round for pupils at Shenington Primary School, which became one of only two English schools to get perfect scores for the third year running.

All pupils at the village primary school, near Banbury, who were eligible to sit the test reached the standard expected for their age group. HThe school's headteacher Mrs Coral Jessop-Burnell said: "I think parental support is the most important thing. We give all our pupils work every night, and all parents support it."

Asked if the school felt under pressure to keep on excelling, she said: "We do not feel under that pressure. Our parents understand that if you have a child with dyslexia, you just do what's best for that child. Although we enjoy the success, we certainly don't make it our primary target."

Only 30 other schools in Britain gained a perfect score this year in each subject, including Watchfield School, near Faringdon,

Other Oxfordshire primaries, which made it into the top 200 schools nationally, were Cumnor CE Primary and Wroxton CE, in Banbury.

The headteacher of Cumnor CE Primary, Mrs Sarah Varnom, was pleased with her school's success but urged parents to read the tables with caution. She said: "Every child is different and I know that the statistics will vary. I think all the children achieved the best that they could.

"Parents will look at these tables but I think most people will also look at the overall education you are offering." Aston & Cote CE, in Bampton, was also celebrating after it was ranked the fifth best-performing primary school in the county.

While there was cheer for some schools, the tables also turned the spotlight on Oxfordshire's worst performing schools.

Two schools in the county have gained the unwelcome distinction of finishing among the bottom 200 schools nationally.

Oxfordshire's poorest performer was Wantage Primary School, Garston Lane, which closed at the end of the last academic year. Governors had already made a decision to close the school when youngsters sat the tests.

Also in the worst 200 performers across the country was William Morris School in Banbury, where

fewer than a third of pupils gained the standard expected for their

age group in English and science, and only 15 per cent reached

the standard expected in mathematics. The school has already been placed under special measures, the term used to describe failing schools, meaning radical steps are under way to turn it round.

The headteacher of William Morris, Ian Eves, pointed out that the year group had only 11 children and a high proportion of those had special needs.

Story date: Tuesday 23 February

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.