EDUCATION standards in Newport are improving all the time - despite the city having schools in some of Wales' most deprived areas.

A new interim report shows exam results in the city's schools in 2003 have improved across four key stages of children's education in core subjects such as maths and science.

Results have improved in key stages one, two, three and four, improving the city's overall standing in Welsh league tables.

New figures show 91 per cent of children are achieving at least level two in maths and science at Key Stage One - the second best figures in Wales. The national average is 87 per cent in maths, and 88 per cent in science.

Dr David Norbury, head of school improvement, said: "This is a remarkable achievement."

Dr Norbury said the fall in those leaving school with no qualifications, which plummeted from 7 per cent in 2002 to just 1.1 per cent in 2003, was "an excellent achievement for an urban area with high levels of disaffection".

The interim report shows consolidation or steady gains in English, maths and science at Key Stage Two, which tests primary school pupils.

At Key Stage Three Newport made further gains in maths and science, but the city fell below the Welsh average in all three subjects.

And GCSE results for Key Stage Four showed increased pass rates, with 46 per cent of pupils passing five or more exams at grades A*-C, compared with a figure of 45 per cent for 2002, and a Wales 2003 figure of 53 per cent.

The report also warned that pockets of underachievement remained among deprived communities, those in authority care and among certain ethnic minorities.

Councillor Ron Morris, chairman of the scrutiny forum for young people's services, said: "Overall it was an excellent report that shows Newport has made a lot of progress.

"The fall in those leaving school with no qualifications is particularly notable. It sets a standard among school-leavers for younger pupils to follow. Training and resources pumped into the primary sector is starting to feed through to the earlier key stage results, and SAT results are going up every year."