EIGHT East Lancashire schools - including four new 'super schools' - have been told they will be shut unless exam results get better.

The threat has come from the Government as part of its £400million plan to improve standards.

The warning has been issued to:

  • Witton Park High School, Blackburn
  • Blakewater College in Blackburn
  • Rhyddings Business and Enterprise College, Oswaldtwistle
  • Moorhead Sports College, Accrington
  • Unity College, Burnley
  • Shuttleworth College, Padiham
  • Sir John Thursby Community College, Burnley
  • Marsden Heights Community College, Brierfield.

Critics said the scheme was a clear "indictment" of the government's failure to raise standards, while education bosses claimed the list did not give a "true reflection" of schools' achievements.

Ministers compiled a hit-list of 638 'failing schools' which have less than 30 per cent of pupils achieving at least five A* to C GCSEs including English and maths.

The government predicts that about a third of them will not improve enough within the stipulated three years, and will face being closed down and replaced with academies, or a new "supertrust" school.

Under the plans announced by Schools Secretary Ed Balls announced the 'National Challenge' yesterday, schools will get extra money and support.

Mr Balls has given local authorities 50 days to produce a rescue plan to improve schools in their area, including realistic expectations of how school exam results will improve in 2008, 2009 and 2010 and assessments of whether their schools are high, medium or low risk of meeting the 2011 goal.

Each school will get an expert adviser who will put together a support package, and from September all new teachers will be eligible to start a new Masters qualification in teaching and learning.

East Lancashire's education bosses said their schools were on track to meet the 30 per cent target.

For the five GCSEs score, Rhyddings and Moorhead both got 24 per cent, Witton Park 28 per cent and Blakewater 22 per cent.

Unity College, which was given a notice to improve by Ofsted in December, has 21 per cent and Shuttleworth College - currently in special measures - 25 per cent.

Sir John Thursby Community College and Marsden Heights Community College in Brierfield, each got 27 per cent.

County Coun Vali Patel, Lancashire County Council's cabinet member for schools, said: "The indications are that more than half of these schools will at least meet target this year and we will continue to work with the remaining schools to enable them to reach it by 2011.

"One set of statistics can only provide a brief snapshot which does not necessarily give a true reflection of the trends in schools' results, the ability of children on entry, or of the full range of their achievements."

Peter Morgan, strategic director of children's services at Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: "Efforts to improve the number of good GCSEs our young people achieve are constantly reviewed.

"Initiatives include changing the school timetable to include more of an emphasis on English and Maths, targeted intervention for individuals and small groups, and GCSE master classes and booster and revision classes."

But Burnley Council leader Gordon Birtwistle said: "This is yet another indication that BSF has been a complete shambles.

"We were promised massive improvements in Burnley.

"The children are the town's future and if they are not being educated and trained to do the jobs we are attracting it's all a waste of time."

Lee Harris is head of Blakewater, which only opened three years ago as a replacement for the failing Queen's Park High.

It has since been praised by the government for its rapid improvements.

Mr Harris said: "A simplistic target taking no account students starting levels and progress tells you very little about a school."

Andrew Bateman, head of Accrington Moorhead, which is already due to be replaced by Accrington Academy in September, echoed the sentiment.

He said: "We have been working on this for years, and the number of students hitting this target has gone up from 15 per cent in 2004 to 24 per cent, I have no doubts whatsoever we will break through 30.

"You have to treat statistics like this very carefully."

Gwen Onyon, head at Witton Park, said: "Given the starting point of our students, the school prides itself on being recognised amongst the top schools in the country for adding value."

Shuttleworth head Martin Burgess said: "I welcome the opportunity for the extra funding, to be able to continue to the very good work already going on here."

Lancashire has a total of 17 schools on the list, compared to 13 in Manchester. Kent has one of the highest rates with 33 schools.

Nigel Evans, MP for Ribble Valley, said: "I think this plan is an indictment, that after 11 years of Labour rule they have to invest a considerable amount of money to try to raise standards."

The government said academies have more success in raising standards, but the plan has been slammed by unions, who oppose the way academies are partly governed by their private sponsors.

Lancashire has a total of 17 schools on the list, compared to 13 in Manchester. Kent has one of the highest rates with 33 schools.