The number of children leaving primary school inEnglandwith a good grasp of reading, writing and maths has increased again, government data shows.

Some 67% of 11-year-olds gained the expected level, Level 4, in all of these subjects in national curriculum tests, known as Sats. Last year 64% of primary pupils left school having reached this level.

But one in three youngsters still failed to achieve the level expected of them in all three subjects.This means that nearly 183,000 pupils left school without a good grasp of reading, writing and maths this summer.

Improvement

The figures released on Tuesday show a steady year-on-year rise, with 62% of pupils reaching the expected level in the “three Rs” in 2009 and 2008.

“We can and must do much better for the one in 10 boys who at the age of 11 can read no better than a seven-year-old”

Overall, the figures from the Department for Education (DfE) results show 84% of pupils reached Level 4 in reading, up from 83% last year.In writing, 75% reached the expected level, compared with 71% in 2010. The biggest rise in some years.

In total, 81% achieved Level 4 in English (made up of the reading and writing tests), up from 80% last year.And 80% achieved the expected level in maths, against 79% the year before.

But the data also shows one in 10 boys – almost 28,000 youngsters – left primary with the reading age of a seven-year-old (Level 2 or less).This compares with 5% of girls, just over 13,000 pupils.

The DfE also published results of science tests taken by a sample of 11-year-olds.

Based on this sample, it is estimated that 84% of 11-year-olds are reaching the expected level in science.

The data also details the numbers of pupils scoring Level 5, one above the expected standard.In English, 42% of pupils achieved a Level 5 in reading, compared with 50% in 2010. In writing, 20% reached this level, against 21% last year.It means that, in total, just 13% of pupils achieved a Level 5 in reading, writing and maths combined. In 2010, this figure was 14%.