Tables show underperforming schools

One in seven schools is failing to make sure that at least 30% of their pupils achieve five good GCSEs (A*-C) including English and maths.

There are 376,976 pupils on the roll at the 440 schools that fall below this benchmark. Of these, 75,535 sat GCSEs in August. As there were around 3.2 million children at secondary schools in England last year, this means that more than one in 10 pupils are attending poor schools.

Ministers announced last June that they wanted no school to be falling below this 30% target by 2011. The numbers of schools below the benchmark has dropped, previously 631 schools were falling short.

Schools that fail to meet the threshold are deemed to be underperforming and come under the Government's National Challenge initiative, which could see them face closure or being turned into an Academy if their results do not improve.

But the latest statistics also show that 32 of the Government's flagship academies are failing to meet this target.

This includes academies such as The Business Academy Bexley, which opened in 2002 and Capital City Academy in London which opened in 2003.

In addition, 17 of the 63 academies reporting GCSE results were found in the league table of the worst 200 schools in England.

Schools secretary Ed Balls said on Wednesday that the Government was on target to see no school falling below the 30% threshold by 2011.

The tables reveal that England's top school is Lawrence Sheriff School, a selective school for boys aged 11-18 in Rugby, Warwickshire. All 89 of its pupils scored five or more grades A*-C, including English and maths. The worst school overall was Parkside Community Technology College in Plymouth, which shut in August and has not been replaced.