SEVEN-year-olds in Oxford schools are the worst in the country at reading, writing and maths, shock new figures have revealed.

Statistics from the Department for Education show that at Key Stage One fewer pupils at Oxford schools achieved expected levels than anywhere else in England.

Almost a fifth of the 1,274 city pupils fell short in maths and almost a quarter on reading. Almost three out of 10 did not reach the key level in writing.

Yet one explanation offered by Oxfordshire County Council’s education boss Michael Waine last night was that teachers in the city were harsh markers.

He refused to speak directly to the Oxford Mail, and nobody at the council would answer whether Oxford schools were failing their pupils.

One education expert described the results “a disgrace” and said the council must set up a task force to urgently examine why a quarter of Oxford’s seven-year-olds cannot read or write to the expected level.

Oxford was not only out-performed by Reading, Swindon and Southampton, but fell below Haringey, where Baby Peter died, and Rochdale, which has the country’s highest unemployment rate.

The results were nine per cent lower than the national average in reading, 10 per cent in writing and seven per cent in maths.

Only a handful of areas, including Sunderland, Oldham and Bradford, performed worse in a science.

Professor John Howson, an expert in schools data who advises Liberal Democrat policymakers and uncovered the figures on the DfE website, said: “I am shocked how far adrift the city is. Frankly the figures are astounding.

“This reveals we have got a serious problem in parts of the city in terms of making scores of children fall far behind in their learning from very early on... In a city whose main industry is education, a quarter fail to reach the required standards by the age of seven.”

Professor Howson said an urgent county and city council-led taskforce was needed to identify which schools were letting down pupils, and how to improve results.

The results come after the 2009 GCSE results put Oxford 320th out of 324 local authority areas.

Councillor Waine, who has been in charge of school standards for the entire school life of the pupils being assessed, did not return the Oxford Mail’s calls yesterday.

The county’s press office said he was spending a day with his family. Instead, he issued a statement that offered no apology to parents for the rock-bottom results.

He said: “We are well aware of the situation at Key Stage One regarding particular city schools and have already put a number of important strategies into operation targeting both children and teachers.”

He added: “It is important to remember that these tests are teacher assessments and that advisory teachers working within the city have commented that the city schools have been particularly harsh in their marking.”