COUNCIL boss Michael Waine is right to apologise for Oxford’s appalling record in reading, writing and arithmetic, where it lies 320th out of 325 local authority areas.

The Oxfordshire County Council chief is also right to put the focus for improvement squarely on schools and parents, saying of heads: “They are virtually autonomous.”

Yet the council needs to be more bullish in challenging schools and leading from the front.

Only then will the city avoid a postcode lottery of attainment, where strong-minded heads work a stones throw from those who fail to acknowledge the problem.

The fact that Mr Waine did not move to set out where he sees results going does not bode well.

Clear goals for achievement must therefore be set by the council. Amid a public spending squeeze, only the highest quality leadership will see the changes needed.

And parents must play their role too. A stimulating home environment is a major boost for children’s intellects, whatever the quality of their school.

It is a major embarrassment for a city that is internationally renowned for education that its most impressionable youngsters are being failed in this way. It must not be allowed to continue.