education chiefs are breathing easy after school test results showed Southampton youngsters are improving in all the right areas.

Reading, writing, spelling and maths are all on the up, according to Key Stage Four national curriculum results.

More than 2,300 Year 2 children, aged around five, sat the exams in May, and most have been sweating it out ever since.

But results have showed a marked increase in ability - especially in spelling, where more than two per cent of pupils clearly beat attainment targets.

Almost 74 per cent of pupils achieved the expected Level Two target - results that are an impressive 25 per cent better than four years ago.

In maths, 91 per cent of pupils achieved Level Two in the tests, 3.5 per cent above target and still an improvement on last year.

Children did fall below their expected levels in reading, but by a negligible 1.1 per cent - which is still a massive 11 per cent better than four years ago.

The full results of the tests will be released in the autumn, which will put the achievement better in perspective by allowing it to compare against neighbouring regions like Portsmouth and Bournemouth.

Last year pupils in Southampton met all the national averages for reading, writing and maths, and also achieved much higher results than neighbouring cities.

Southampton City Council's executive member for education, Councillor Richard Harris, pictured, said: "I am delighted that Southampton pupils are improving standards on these important subjects.

"This reflects the hard work put in to improving literary and numeracy standards across the city and is a tribute to the hard-working teachers we have in our schools.

"I am sure this years' results will show Southampton among the top performers when compared against our neighbours."