Pupils at an Oxford upper school may struggle to meet Government targets set for 14 year-olds because 75 per cent are well below expected standards when they arrive.

A teacher at Peers School, Littlemore, Oxford, has told colleagues that to get her pupils to meet the targets they would have to cram three years' work into one.

Three quarters of her pupils are at level three in National Curriculum tests when they arrive in Year Nine.

But the Government's target is that students reach level four in Year Seven and reach level five in Year Nine. The school currently takes children at the age of 13 from local middle schools.

The teacher was speaking at the Oxfordshire launch of the strategies for English and Maths for Key Stage 3 of the National Curriculum for 12 to 14 year-olds, at Enstone.

The teacher, who did not want to be named, told the Oxford Mail: "There is concern about the level of resources.

"The level of resources at city schools is so much higher than for county schools."

Her views were backed by an Ofsted report last year, which said that pupils' attainment when they arrived at the school was well below average.

But Chris Dark, headteacher at the school, which has just had its technology status renewed, said: "I don't think those figures are correct.

"Pupils would have taken tests three years earlier, so you cannot say accurately what level they are at when they arrive.

"Peers has the highest ranking for adding value in Oxfordshire."

Glinys Weller, Oxfordshire's senior advisor for Key Stage 3 of the National Curriculum, said: "It is up to the school how they allocate their resources.

"A lot of schools have just focused on GCSE before, but they are starting to put resources into Key Stage 3 because they realise that is the best way of getting good GCSE results.

"We will work in partnership with Peers to help with some of the concerns the teacher has."