Children’s reading, writing and maths skills are below pre-pandemic levels in Leicester, and trailing the country as a whole. Some 59 per cent of 11-year-olds in Leicester met expected standards in all three of their Key Stage 2 reading, writing and maths assessments in the 2024/25 academic year.

That is below the national average of 62 per cent, according to the latest figures from the Department for Education (DfE) . It is also down from 63 per cent in 2018/19, the last year before the pandemic.

Things are better in the wider Leicestershire area . Some 63 per cent of Year 6 pupils in the county met all three expected standards in maths, reading and writing in 2025. While that is above the national average, it is still behind the 67 per cent from before the pandemic.

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