County education chiefs say they are disappointed by the primary school results and have pledged more support for those not making the grade.

Cllr Jenny Whittle (Con), KCC deputy cabinet member for learning, said the authority was not hiding its disappointment.

Just under 80 schools across the county failed to reach the national average.

"Our results at primary key stages are not good enough. We cannot afford to take our eye off the ball," said Cllr Whittle.

"The under-performing schools are our top priority. What we have to do is support them as much as we can. I am looking at the type of support we offer to schools to make sure it is properly targeted."

The authority would continue to invest in pre-school and nursery education and would consider establishing more partnerships between primary and secondary schools to help lift standards.

"We are investing a lot of money in childrens’ centres as there is evidence this does feed through to results in primary schools. Any intervention needs to be made early."

KCC would also be encouraging governors to set more challenging targets for headteachers of schools that were failing to reach the Government’s benchmark.

"I would like all our schools to be reaching the national average within two or three years."