PRIMARY school children in York suffered a drop in academic attainment through the pandemic, new figures show.

Across England, attainment levels in state schools for reading, writing, maths and science fell significantly in the period from 2018-19 – the last unaffected year before the pandemic – to 2021-22.

City of York Council reported that at the end of Key Stage 1 (children aged four to seven), 68.8 per cent of children in 2021-22 achieved York’s expected standard in reading, down by 7.3 per cent from 2018-19.

Derek Sutherland, head of primary effectiveness and achievement at City of York Council, said: "York's decrease has been at a slower rate than the average fall nationwide, however we are not complacent.

"Through the York Schools Academy Board, our focus is on good attendance at schools to ensure that all children can access provision and support which allows them to achieve good outcomes.

“In reading, York was 1.9 per cent higher than the national average of 69 per cent. York has been above the national average three times in the last three academic years for the expected standard in reading

“All schools in York have developed post-Covid plans and monitor its impact to ensure that schools address the gaps in pupil progress."

Department for Education figures for England show 69 per cent of Key Stage 1 pupils achieved the expected standard in reading assessments last year – down from 76 per cent in 2018-19, while 60 per cent achieved the expected standard in writing – down from 72 per cent.

Attainment in science also fell nationally, from 85 per cent in 2018-19 to 80 per cent last year, and maths fell from 77 per cent to 69 per cent.

The Association of School and College Leaders highlighted the widening attainment gap between children from disadvantaged backgrounds (those who receive free school meals or had spent at least one day in local authority care) and their more advantaged peers.

Across England, reading and writing attainment fell by 11 and 14 per cent respectively for disadvantaged pupils, compared to six and 10 per cent for other children.

Meanwhile, maths attainment fell by 10 per cent, compared to six per cent for other pupils.

Mr Sutherland added: "In York, we know that the 'gap' between non-disadvantaged children nationally and disadvantaged children in the Early Talk For York area has reduced from 34.5 per cent (2018) to 2.5 per cent (2022).

“This data provides confidence that ETFY is meeting its primary objective of improving speech, language and communication outcomes for all children in the city.”

The ASC said teachers are “doing everything they can to help all pupils catch up”, but urged the government to increase funding to meet attainment standards.

The Department for Education said it has rolled out its education recovery programme to help children's learning following the pandemic, which included £24 million investment to boost literacy skills.