Education leaders in Norfolk last night vowed to bring about big improvements at primary schools after new league tables revealed they were among the seven worst in the country when it came to performing in English and maths.

Four of Norwich's primaries came in the bottom 200 of schools nationally while a worrying 43 from across Norfolk – including 10 from the Norwich area – failed to reach the government's floor target meaning they face the threat of intervention from Westminster.

Norfolk now lies joint 146th out of 152 local authorities in terms of the achievements of 11-year-olds in maths and English tests.

Just 68pc of youngsters gained a level four or better in the exams - only three other parts of the country performed worse.

Norfolk's performance had improved by one percentage point, in line with the national average which rose from 73pc to 74pc.

Last night, Fred Corbett, deputy director of children's services at Norfolk County Council, said: 'The table is very, very close and slight improvement would see us move up considerably. However, we won't be satisfied until we are in the top half.'

Alison Thomas, cabinet member for Norfolk children's services, said a lack of progress in some schools was letting down those which had made significant progress over the past year. But she praised those schools which had worked hard to progress.

'Many schools have made significant improvements in recent years and we are pleased to see good progress in some schools that had persistently struggled to raise levels of attainment.'

Norwich South MP Simon Wright said the league tables highlight a persistent gap between the performance of children in disadvantaged areas and better off ones and called on schools to use their pupil premium funding to help close it.

He said: 'You can see there is a clear connection between areas of social deprivation in Norfolk and lower standards being achieved. It's an absolute scandal that link is so marked and visible.'

To see the results for all Norfolk schools, visit www.eveningnews24.co.uk.