AN EMINENT Oxford education expert says he wants to help improve exam results after being elected to Oxfordshire County Council.

John Howson is a visiting professor of education at Oxford Brookes University and a visiting research fellow at Oxford University.

The 65-year-old was chosen as county councillor for the St Margarets division in North Oxford in the recent elections to Oxfordshire’s education authority.

He said: “I have expressed concern about the standards we have been achieving in the city at Key Stage One and in the county at GCSE level. I would hope to do everything possible to ensure the administration does what it can to ensure we get better results.

“If you talk to companies like BMW at Cowley the jobs they are looking for are much more sophisticated.

“The county council is already working with Oxford City Council on Key Stage One results and we will see what the results of that are likely to be.”

Prof Howson, who lives in Rewley Road, spent seven years as a teacher in a Tottenham secondary school before going into teacher training.

In 2010 he uncovered how poorly Oxford’s seven-year-olds performed in reading and writing at Key Stage One tests, with figures showing the city’s children came bottom of 350 district council areas.

This year’s election was the third time in a year he had sought public office – on all occasions for the Liberal Democrats.

One of the first issues he wants to tackle is headteacher recruitment.

He said: “Some schools, I have heard, are having difficulties in recruiting them and I would want to find out why that is. Good quality leadership is important.”

County councillor Melinda Tilley,cabinet member for education, said: “It is probably good to have people like John Howson on the council. I have already been working with him on improving outcomes for children.”

Prof Howson said he’d wait and see who is confirmed as the cabinet member for education before deciding if he can work with them.