Norfolk and Suffolk primary schools are in the bottom quarter of the country for reading, writing and maths, new figures show.

According to the Department for Education (DfE) figures, released today, 665 mainstream primaries in England fell below the government new two-prong floor test.

More than two out of three schools failed the exam standard of 65pc in reading, writing and maths - but were saved from government sanctions by the a new measure of progress.

The DfE's two-pronged system says that if schools fail the 65pc rate, they must demonstrate a sufficient rate of progress in reading, writing and maths, namely -5, -5 and -7 respectively.

It means that, nationally, about 180,743 children are being taught at primaries which failed to meet the government's threshold and that just 53pc of the almost 600,000 11-year-old pupils who took the tests reached the expected standards.

How did we perform locally?

Taking the proportion of pupils meeting the new expected standard in reading, writing and maths alone - and not including progress scores - the figures from the region are:

• Norfolk - 50pc

• Suffolk - 49pc

• Cambridgeshire - 53pc

This puts Suffolk 129th out of 152 local authorities and Norfolk 118th.

High performers in the area include Hockering Primary Academy, which scored 100pc, Garboldisham Church Primary School, 92pc, and Seething and Mundham Primary School, 90pc.

And in Norfolk, the average progress scores were:

• Reading: 0

• Writing: 0.7

• Maths: -1.5

A score of zero means that pupils made the same progress as peers with similar academic starting points - and while negative does not mean they made no, or less, progress, it does mean they made less progress than other pupils who started off in the same place as them in terms of tests.

Where do the SATs come into it?

This year's tests - otherwise known as national curriculum tests - are the first to test pupils on a new primary curriculum introduced in 2014.

Previously, pupils were awarded 'levels', with Level 4 the standard expected at the end of primary school. But the levels have been scrapped and students are expected to reach a new standard based on scaled scores in each subject.

The new expected standard has been set at a higher benchmark than the old Level 4, and this is the first year that pupils have been assessed under the new system.

School Standards Minister Nick Gibb said: 'This year's SATs are the first that test the new primary school curriculum in English and maths that we introduced in 2014. This new curriculum raises expectations and ensures pupils become more accomplished readers and are fluent in the basics of arithmetic, including times-tables, long division and fractions.

'Many schools have responded well to this more rigorous curriculum, supporting their pupils to be leaving primary school better-prepared for the demands of secondary school.'