A HIGHER percentage of Hampshire’s primary school children have met the expected standards in their standard assessment tests (SATs) than their peers nationally, according to provisional results published by the Department for Education.

The results of the Key Stage 2 SATs, taken by children in their final year of primary education) in May, show that 68 per cent of Hampshire’s primary school children met the required standards for reading, writing and maths, compared with 64 per cent nationally.

This performance represents a two per cent improvement on last year.

Stephen Reid, Hampshire County Council’s executive member for education and skills, and performance, said: “This is excellent news and the results are those I would expect in a county where more than 90 per cent of schools are rated good or outstanding by Ofsted. Those who took their SATs in May are clearly doing very well and should be proud of their achievements.”

In the individual tests, the percentage of Hampshire children who achieved the expected level was higher than the national average in each subject area:

* Reading: 78% versus 75% nationally (76% for Hampshire in 2017);

* Writing: 82% versus 78% nationally (81% for Hampshire in 2017);

* Maths: 78% compared with 76% nationally (77% for Hampshire in 2017).

Mr Reid added: “These are provisional results and it will be some time before we can corroborate the figures. However, based on this initial release, children in Hampshire are out-performing their peers in other parts of the country and have secured themselves good foundations on which to base their secondary education, starting in September.”