IMPROVEMENTS have been made children who took their Key Stage 2 SATs in May for the second year running - but West Sussex remains below the national average.

Provisional results show that 61.3 per cent of West Sussex's 11-year-olds met or exceeded the expected standard in the combined three areas: reading, writing and maths - up from 55 per cent in 2017.

It means West Sussex is still behind the national average of 64 per cent for reading, writing and maths in 2018.

Richard Burrett, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills, described the results as 'extremely encouraging' and praised the hard work of staff and teachers.

But he didn't acknowledge why West Sussex is behind the national average.

He said: "West Sussex is improving at a faster rate when compared with the national average. These results are really encouraging but we are not complacent."