PUPILS starting at high school this month in Warrington finished their primary education with some of the best results in the country.

According to the Department of Education, key stage two results for the 11-year-olds who took their SATs in May show that 71 per cent achieved the Government's required standard in all their tests.

This is much higher than the average in England at 64 per cent.

Cllr Jean Carter, executive board member for children's services at Warrington Borough Council, said the results bode well for the future.

She added: "These are absolutely fantastic results, in extremely challenging tests, which have placed Warrington among the highest performing areas in the country.

"Our schools continue to perform superbly, which bodes really well for the future. I am incredibly proud of all our pupils, parents, school staff and governors who have worked so hard to achieve such excellence.”

This year, 2,525 year six pupils took the tests, which are intended to measure how well a child is doing in three key subjects – reading, maths, and grammar.

They are also used to evaluate how well primary schools are preparing their pupils for secondary school.

Girls did slightly better than boys, with 75 per cent of girls meeting the standard compared to 67 per cent of boys.

But campaign group 'More than a Score' says that schools looking to climb league tables focus too much on high SAT scores, and that SATs have 'failed a generation of children'.

It says that younger children, who can get anxious taking a test, should be assessed in a less stressful way.

During year six, pupils are also evaluated separately by their teachers in reading, writing, science and maths.

These assessments provide a broader picture of how well children are doing at school.

Children in the borough did much better in key stage two teacher assessments than in the tests.

They did best in science, where 86 per cent of pupils met the required standard while in the writing assessment, 81 per cent of pupils made the grade.