Norfolk had the biggest proportion of under-performing primary schools in the country when it comes to 11-year-olds meeting expected standards in reading, writing and mathematics, official figures have shown.

The percentage of pupils in Norfolk reaching targets at the end of key stage 2 in 2017/18 went up, with 59pc of year six pupils reaching the targets at the end of key stage 2.

That was up on the 57pc figure for the previous academic year, but Norfolk was still below the national average of 64pc.

But 22 of the 231 mainstream primary schools in Norfolk were deemed to be under-performing. According to Press Association analysis of the data, 91,620 pupils are being taught at under-performing primaries nationally.

Schools are considered to be under-performing if fewer than 65pc of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, or if they fail to make sufficient progress in the three key areas.

Norfolk County Council said extra support was being offered to schools.

A spokeswoman for County Hall said: 'Improvement at key stage 2 continues to be a challenge in the county but we are offering extra support to schools where it is needed to further improve performance.'

But two Norfolk schools saw every pupil meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths - Garboldisham Church Primary School and Little Melton Primary School.

in Suffolk, 61pc of pupils reached the expected standard, up from 57pc last year.

The East and East Midlands had the highest percentage of schools below the floor standard, while London had the lowest at fewer than 1pc, according to the government data.

Earlier this year, the DfE announced proposals aimed at ending confusion over how schools are measured.

The system of using two standards, floor and coasting, to judge school performance will be replaced with a new single measure.

School standards minister Nick Gibb said the statistics showed that standards were rising in schools at a national level.

He added: 'Every child, regardless of their background, deserves a high quality education and opportunity to fulfil their potential.'