Government fails to meet literacy and numeracy targets after seven years in office

3.41.22pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 24th Aug 2004

Government is letting our school children down

Following the publication today of the National Curriculum tests results for 7, 11 and 14 year olds, Phil Willis MP, Liberal Democrat Shadow Education Secretary, said "In Labour's first term of office David Blunkett proudly boasted that he would resign if government targets for English and maths were not reached. Seven years later those targets seem just as remote."

Mr. Willis further said "The most alarming statistics from today's results are that boys continue to under-perform and that the decline in maths and science is now embedded into our secondary system. What the statistics do not show is that a small but significant group of young people are reaching the age of 14 unable to read or calculate effectively and the government appears to have written these youngsters off."