A GENERATION of schoolchildren in Oxfordshire could be left behind by their peers after successive poor exam results.

Latest Key Stage 2 results showed the county’s 11-year-olds dropped below the national average for the first time in at least four years. Some of the results came from the same group in Oxford who received the worst Key Stage 1 results in the country in 2010.

Education expert Professor John Howson said Oxfordshire risked having a “lost generation” of schoolchildren as a result and said more needed to be done to improve their grades before they leave compulsory education.

Children in Oxford’s primary schools had the worst Key Stage 1 results in the country in 2010 in all subjects, although results across the county were one per cent better than the national average.

But when assessed along with their peers in the rest of the county at Key Stage 2 level four years later, Oxfordshire’s performance dropped below the national average with only 78 per cent of pupils reaching the Government’s benchmark (Level 4) in reading, writing and maths in 2014.

Across England, 79 per cent of pupils reach the expected attainment level on average.

The 2014 results are the most recent available.

Pupils in Oxfordshire had been outperforming pupils in the rest of the country at Key Stage 2 level since 2010.

Children eligible for free school meals (FSM) because their parents had low incomes performed much worse than better-off pupils.

Professor Howson, who is also a member of Oxfordshire County Council’s education scrutiny committee, said: “There is a real danger that those children who did poorly in 2010 will become a lost generation.

“Once you start falling behind, the risk in education is that you end up running up a down escalator.

“Being bottom in 2010 will have had an effect but the 2014 results must mean we have not been able to improve.”

The poor results in 2010 led to the Oxford Mail launching a reading campaign along with Oxfordshire County Council.

Children who took part in the scheme made an average of 13 months’ progress in their reading after just four months taking part in Project X Code.

The figures, which were released last year by the Department for Education, were included in an annual public health report by Oxfordshire Director of Public Health Dr Jonathan McWilliam last month.

The report also showed FSM pupils were 23 per cent less likely to achieve level four than pupils not on FSM, five percentage points higher than the English average.

Dr McWilliam’s report said results give a useful indicator of prospects for children and could reflect the general level of disadvantage among pupils.

Professor Howson said: “We need to look at attendance of children on free school meals because there is some evidence that they have a less good attendance.

“We have to make sure that if they miss school that they do not miss vital parts of maths and English.

“I would expect the first cohort of children to have gone through Project X will have higher attainment come 2016 when they are assessed at Key Stage 2.

“It could also be that schools were focusing too much on Key Stage 1 and not on Key Stage 2.” Windmill Primary School in Headington bucked the trend by achieving higher results than the national average.

Headteacher Lynn Knapp said: “The Government does not always think about children being individuals who need to be treated as individuals.

“We have managed to close the gap and our free school meal kids are in line with other pupils. There is an issue in other schools.

“We always look at children as individuals and put in measures which match each child.

“If you are in a school where you have a large number of pupil premium pupils you need support from the council and from the Government. For many schools that is not always there.”

County council cabinet member for education Melinda Tilley said: “We had a blip and we need to pick the results up.

“I think there were some changes to the way Key Stage 2 was graded.

“I think you will find this year’s results will be better.”