WE should be doing better.

That was the message last night from Oxfordshire’s schools chief as new figures showed boys were still lagging behind girls when they left primary school.

The Government’s Key Stage Two SATs results for 2011 showed the proportion of pupils achieving expected levels in English and maths in the county this summer rose by two percentage points from 2009.

But the figures, which were in line with national targets for 11-year-olds, demonstrated girls were continuing to outperform boys in English, reading and writing.

And, in writing, the gap between girls and boys reaching the expected level four was 14 percentage points, just 68 per cent for boys and 82 per cent for girls.

Oxfordshire County Council schools improvement cabinet member Melinda Tilley, right, said: “While I am quite pleased that we have stayed more or less in line or a little bit above the national average, that does not sound good enough for Oxfordshire.

“I am worried about the boys' writing results because we cannot seem to get their interest in it and we need to capture their enthusiasm for reading and writing.

“It is all very well being the national medium or just above it, but we are Oxfordshire, our cohort by nature of what we are, should be better.”

In total, 82 per cent of the 6,148 pupils in the county taking the tests achieved the expected level in English, 85 per cent in reading, 75 per cent in writing, and 81 per cent in maths.

That was one point above the average in maths and reading and equal to the national average in English and writing.

This year’s results also included teachers' pupil assessments, which closely tallied with the Department of Education’s final Key Stage Two results.

Mrs Tilley said writing was a high priority for schools across the county and pointed out the gender gap reflected the national picture.

She said: “We need to put a lot more work in and I do not know how long it is going to take because it is proving difficult to get things into motion.

“We need to capture boys’ enthusiasm for reading and writing. Everybody is worried about it and working on it and nobody is being complacent about this.”

She added: “I would like to see us not just equal to, but ahead of all our benchmark councils.”

It is difficult to compare this year’s results with those from 2010, as 21 per cent of primary schools boycotted the tests.

But last year children in Oxford taking tests at age seven recorded the worst scores in the country.

Mrs Tilley said work was being done to address underachievement, including the appointment of a new member of staff focusing on it.

Oxfordshire National Union of Teachers assistant secretary Gawain Little said: “The improvements are very welcome, especially because Key Stage 1 and 2 results have been a big concern for parents and teachers alike.

“The fact that teacher assessment levels are so close to test results reflects that teachers are accurately judging how well children will do.

“A more detailed teacher assessment, which we would like, would give you a breakdown of different areas of strengths and weaknesses.”

To reach level four in writing, children need to write “lively and thoughtful” material in differing forms, developing and sustaining ideas.

Vocabulary should be adventurous and sentences complex. Spelling should be “generally accurate”.