A GROWING number of East Lancashire children are leaving primary school with good levels of literacy and numeracy.

Government figures out today show that primaries in both Blackburn with Darwen Council and Lancashire County Council - the authority for schools in Hyndburn and Ribble Valley - are helping more pupils gain the Government standards in English, maths and science.

Key Stage Two tables released by the Department for Children, Schools and Families show that 11-year-olds in Blackburn and Darwen are continuing to make progress in the core subjects.

The number of pupils gaining the benchmark in English went up two points to 77 per cent, maths one per cent to 75, and two points again in science to 85per cent against national average figures of 80 per cent, 77 per cent and 88 per cent respectively.

The test results are based on the achievements of eligible pupils who completed their Key Stage Two tests in May.

They are expected to achieve level four to have the necessary numeracy and literacy skills crucial for progress at secondary school.

This year's results see Blackburn with Darwen Council go up another five places to 111th out of 150 councils nationally.

The borough is still trailing behind the national average in terms of academic results, but for schools' overall effectiveness - measured by the Contextual Value-Added (CVA) score - Blackburn with Darwen mirrors the Government's benchmark of 100.

CVA aims to show the progress made by pupils in the four years from Key Stage One to Two.

Fluctuations either side of 100 means a school is deemed above or below average.

Lancashire County Council has been given an overall CVA score of 99.8, and it has dropped six places to rank 50th nationally for Key Stage Two results.

But in academic achievement, its pupils continue to equal or exceed the national average.

Although attainment in maths dropped one point to 79per cent, it rose two points in English to 81 per cent, and one point in science to 88per cent.

For the second year running, Holy Souls RC Primary School in Wilworth Crescent, Blackburn, came top of the borough for its outstanding Key Stage Two results, and its record CVA of 102.3 ranked it in the top 100 schools nationally for value-added.

Vivian Baker, deputy head at Holy Souls, where she is responsible for Key Stage Two, said: "We're very pleased, but there was no reason why our pupils would not continue achieving highly.

"What is unusual is that last year's cohort was 23 boys and seven girls, which bucks all national trends about boys not learning well together.

"We're really pleased about out CVA score, even though it's only gone up one point, that's still a big achivement, and it's down to the continued teamwork of staff and support of parents."

Holy Souls is joined in the coveted list by Brookhouse Primary in Troy Street, Blackburn, which got a CVA of 102.4, and St Joseph's Primary in Hurst Green, with 102.6.

In the Government's list of the 100 most improved schools, St Mary Magdalen's Primary and Sacred Heart RC Primary in Accrington is listed, as is Shadsworth Junior, a marked turnaround for the Rothsay Road school, which was in the 100 worst performing schools last year - its CVA has gone from 96.1 to 99.5.

Faring less well is St Aidan's CE Primary in Blackburn, which is included in the bottom 200 schools this year for academic achievement. It is a further blow for the school, which was placed in special measures by Ofsted last month.

County Coun Vali Patel, cabinet member for schools, said: "I'm pleased with the results as they mean Lancashire is keeping up with the top third of schools nationally, and I comgratulate all the children and staff, their hard work is much appreciated."