SECONDARY school pupils in Blackburn and Darwen have been congratulated by the government for being one of the country's most improved boroughs for Key Stage Three results.

Figures published yesterday (tues) by the Department for Children, Schools and Families show that the borough's results in English and maths are among the 10 most improved in the country since 1998.

In English figures have improved by 18 percentage points to 73 per cent and for maths, by 23 points to 75 per cent, bringing them to only one per cent behind the national average in both subjects.

Key Stage Three tests are the national curriculum assessments for 14-year-olds in English, maths, reading, writing, and science and are regarded as an important predictor for GCSE results.

The government aims to have students attaining Level Five, though a proportion achieve Level Six.

In the other core subjects, for students achieving Level Five, Blackburn with Darwen schools got 69 per cent in reading, 72 per cent in writing - a slight drop on last year - and 69 per cent in science Schools Minister Jim Knight said: "I would like to congratulate pupils, parents and teachers.

"I know that many schools in Blackburn with Darwen have challenges that other schools in more affluent areas may not face and that is why this achievement is particularly special.

"The tests for 14-year-olds are a great indicator for success at GCSE so this bodes well for the future. However, it is important that we keep pushing. There is still more to do and we want every child to do their best at every stage of their school life."

Coun Chris Thayne, executive member for children's services at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: "We are delighted to see a continued improvement in performance, this progress is a cause for celebration. Teachers and children can be proud of the efforts they have made in raising standards."

In Lancashire County Council, which covers Hyndburn, Ribble Valley, Burnley, Pendle and Rossendale, results show that teens are performing slightly above the national average for Level Five attainment in almost all subjects, though there has been a slight drop on last year's results in writing and maths.

County Coun Vali Patel, cabinet member for schools, said: "I am very pleased to see that results either match or exceed the national averages.

"The new curriculum next year will give teachers more flexibility to help students who are at risk of falling behind on the basics, as well as stretching those who do well."

Nationally, numbers of pupils achieving Level Five in maths dropped by one per cent, though rose slightly in English and science.

Mr Knight said: "Whilst I'm disappointed to see a drop in maths and writing, it's important to put this into context. The overall trend remains upwards and there have been dips in the past that have been quickly reversed."

He added that more needs to be done to raise standards.