The government is to introduce tougher primary school tests in English and maths to ensure that children have the necessary skills in these core subjects, the Department for Education has announced.

Part of a wider programme of measures to boost standards in education, these new tests will ensure that nobody leaves school without being able to read or write "with a solid grounding in maths".

The new tests will be introduced in 2016. It is anticipated that there will be a notable improvement in grades, as children taking the exams will be two years into a "rigorous new curriculum".

Education minister Elizabeth Truss said that for children to get on in later life, they need to have a high level of proficiency in maths and English.

"This means learning times tables up to 12x12 and being able to carry out long multiplication and division without the aid of a calculator," she explained.

"It also means proper spelling, grammar and punctuation. There is no reason why our children cannot match the best performers around the world in these vital subjects."

The maths test will assess children from the age of 11 on areas such as adding and subtracting fractions with different denominations and mixed numbers; and calculating the area of a parallelogram and a triangle, and the volume of a cuboid.

With reading, the Department for Education stated that young people will have to demonstrate skill in the use of verbs in the perfect form to mark relationships of time; recognise adverbials and how to use a fronted adverbial; and demonstrate how to introduce a subordinate clause.

This announcement comes on the back of a recent survey from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), which reported that 85 per cent of businesses want to see primary schools to focus more on numeracy and literacy skills.

In a survey of 291 organisations employing 1.5 million people, the CBI found that one-third were "not satisfied" that school leavers they had taken on had a satisfactory level in English and maths.

"Businesses feel very strongly that the education system must better prepare young people for life outside the school gates, or risk wasting their talents, JohnCridland, director-general of the CBI, said last month.

"The journey from school towards the world of work can be daunting, so we must support schools and teachers to help develop the skills, character and attitudes students need to progress in life. We need young people who are rigorous, rounded and grounded, and business stands ready to play its part."