More than 200,000 kids will leave primary school without being able to read properly after missing class during lockdown

MORE than 200,000 pupils may be leaving primary school without basic reading and writing, figures suggest.

The Government statistics also reveal an extra 30,000 kids struggling with literacy in just the past year

Tory MP Robert Halfon, chair of the education committee, called on ministers to take more urgent measures to deal with the “education apocalypse”.

He warned that Covid has been a natural disaster for the nation’s children and should be as high a priority as the NHS.

PM Boris Johnson is working on a multi-year strategy to help kids catch up over fears about the huge impact of the pandemic on education.

Ministers have laid out plans for a £3billion scheme, including extra funding for two weeks of summer school for pupils going into secondary school.

But Mr Halfon told The Sun last night: “We need a radical, long-term plan, to think about extending the school year, the school day, and a look at the curriculum too.”

He added: “Nothing is more important than the education of our kids.

We need to give it as much priority as the NHS.”

He has repeatedly called for an army of volunteers to be drafted into schools to help children catch up — something being considered by Sir Kevan Collins, who is leading a review of the impact of Covid on schoolkids.

The Department for Education said: “Our £1.7billion catch-up package will help children and young people recover the learning they have lost in the short-term and our National Tutoring Programme has already helped over 180,000 pupils.”