And the county leads the way among its immediate neighbours for performance in the Key Stage 2 SATs exams which the county's 11-year-olds took in May.

On Tuesday, the Government published provisional figures showing that, nationally, primary school children have produced the best set of Key Stage 2 results ever with record numbers of 11-year-olds reaching the expected level for their age in English, maths and science.

English at the expected Level 4 and above has improved by one percentage point to 80 per cent nationally, while in Devon it is 81 per cent.

Mathematics has risen for the fourth year in a row by one percentage point to 77 per cent. However, in Devon it has gone up by two per cent to 79 per cent.

Science in local authority primary schools nationally is now at 87 per cent for Level 4, while in Devon it is two points higher at 89 per cent.

Across the region, Devon County Council run schools are achieving more highly than their neighbours in Cornwall, Plymouth and Torbay and are one point ahead of schools in Somerset in maths and are equalling them in English and science.

Devon's executive councillor for children and young people, John Smith, praised schools for their performance.

"I would like to congratulate all of the primary schools whose good work has been highlighted in the various tables published by the Government," he said.

"The best results are always achieved through a partnership between heads, teachers, school support staff and children, with the active support of their families and our own education staff. I would like to pay tribute to their hard work today."

He added: "I am delighted that pupils in Devon's schools are still achieving ahead of the national average despite these being the best set of Key Stage 2 results ever nationally.

"But none of us must be complacent. We must continue to strive so that every child in every school in Devon achieves the best they possibly can.

"Once again these results prove that Devon is punching above its weight with a consistently above average performance despite us being one of the worst funded education authorities in the country.

"This is a tribute to everyone working with our children in schools across the county."