Primary schools in rural areas score better than city schools in the tests which most Dutch children take in their last year of primary school, according to research by RTL Nieuws.

RTL’s researchers studied schools’ results to compare performances based on a national average score of 7. The results were also adjusted to take the background of children into account.

The researchers found that the country’s 890 inner city schools scored an average of 6.93 while the 1,511 schools in the most rural areas scored 7.05.

The worst big city performance was turned in by Utrecht, with a score of 6.77. Amsterdam was on 6.79, while The Hague hit the national average of 7. Rotterdam did better, with an average score of 7.14.

The scores also show that Islamic and orthodox Protestant schools scored best among the religious institutions, with scores of 7.29 and 7.19 respectively.