WE’RE all too quick to criticise when schools and our pupils aren’t performing as well as we expect.

So it’s great to be able to celebrate another round of achievement with more early-years pupils making better progress than in the last few years.

All involved – the children, the parents, the teachers and staff at the county council – deserve due credit for the part they have played in the turnaround in results.

Only a few weeks ago we reported that Key Stage One children across Oxfordshire had achieved their best results in reading, writing and maths for five years.

There is a lot to be said about the so-called “culture of achievement” which some headteachers have spoken about.

You raise expectations and children, teachers and council staff have higher standards to aim for. They achieve higher standards, the greater the expectations.

Everyone should be feeling very pleased with the latest set of results that reflects all the hard work put in.

But we cannot rest on our laurels and must not take our foot off the pedal.

We all recognise that much more needs to be done to continue driving standards but we now have solid foundations to build on.

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