Many struggling schools serve challenging areas

Schools Minister Lord Adonis told private school leaders fewer than 30% of pupils got five good GCSEs including English and maths in some 800 schools.

This was a "waste of talent". Parents and government "rightly expect better".

A head teachers' leader said the government had changed the target and it was wrong to say all those schools were giving children a bad education.

Lord Adonis told the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference that standards in the state sector had improved significantly in the past 10 years.

"But it is still the case that in some 800 secondary schools, fewer than 30% of 16-year-olds achieve five or more good GCSEs including English and maths.

"The waste of talent and potential this represents simply isn't acceptable for the future.

"Parents rightly expect better, and so must we as educators and government."

Academies

In many of the 800 schools - 23% of the total in England - standards were not improving, or not doing so fast enough to give people confidence they would become good schools reasonably soon.

"For many of these schools, the essential deficit is one of governance, leadership, ethos and vision taken together - all of the underpinning foundations of a good school which, together, enable it to succeed."

Lord Adonis said this was why academies were being introduced in areas of educational disadvantage, he said.

The general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, John Dunford, said schools were having to change their teaching priorities to focus on maths and English because of the new GCSE target.

'Shocking'

Dr Dunford said: "But it is quite wrong to say that all those 800 schools are giving a bad education to their children.

"That is patently untrue. Many of these schools serve extremely challenging communities and many children who are new to this country."

Shadow Children's Secretary Michael Gove said Lord Adonis had once more underlined the scale of failure over the last 10 years.

"Given the welcome extra money spent on education the failure to improve standards for the weakest is shocking."

His party had campaigned for the adoption of best practice, he said.

"Meanwhile the government is back-pedalling on reform - neutering its own academies programme and failing to put rigour at the heart of the curriculum."