More Suffolk school children are achieving expected standards in reading, writing and maths – but the county is still near the bottom of national league tables.

The results for the county’s 7,500 primary school 11-year-olds are expected to say that 77% of pupils have hit or exceeded the Level 4 benchmark at Key Stage 2.

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This has narrowed the gap to the national average of 80%, which improved by 2% on the 2013/14 academic year, compared to Suffolk’s 3% rise. The results are expected from data, including primary school league tables, set to be released by the Department for Education (DfE) today.

Suffolk is likely to be ranked joint 134th out of 152 local authorities – in the summer the county was 118th when provisional statistics were published before remarked exams were taken into account. The ranking of 134th would be an improvement of six places on last year.

While several counties have seen their original scores go up, including Norfolk, Suffolk has stayed on 77%.

Gordon Jones, cabinet member for children’s services, education and skills said: “These results provide further proof that education standards in Suffolk are continually improving as a result of our Raising the Bar programme and, most importantly, the efforts of teaching staff, students and parents.

“What is particularly pleasing is that the gap to national results has continued to reduce and is now just 3%. We have also seen a significant improvement in the performance of Suffolk’s disadvantaged pupils with the gap to national narrowing by 5%.”

Cheryl Singleton, joint acting chairman of Suffolk Primary Headteacher’s Association, thanked staff for their hard work. She said: “The latest rise in Key Stage 2 results reflects the continued hard work of school staff and leaders to ensure that our children get the best possible education.

“These tests are changing radically this academic year and Suffolk schools have been working to ensure that our pupils are ready for the challenge without compromising the broader curriculum our primary schools deliver,” the co-principal of Leiston, Easton and Wickham Market primary schools added.

A further statistics breakdown of pupils reaching expected Level 4 standards is set to show Suffolk on 86% for maths, 88% for reading and 86% for writing, compared to national averages of 89%, 90% and 87% respectively.

Graham White, secretary of Suffolk’s NUT, said he was pleased progress was being made but called for more money and support to enable quicker improvements.

“There needs to be more money and resources put into schools, we know Suffolk is one of the worst funded authorities for education.”

He also has concerns the money the county council does have is not being spent wisely.

In 2013, Suffolk was at 70% for pupils achieving Level 4 in reading, writing and maths. In 2012 it was 68%.

Results in Essex this year also rose – from 79% to 81%, meaning it is joint 65th in the country.

If you have an education story call Matt Hunter on 01473 324802 or contact him via email