"They follow excellent results at GCSE level where we have seen yet more improvements in the basics. Key Stage 3 is a vital stage in a young person's progress and good results here are an excellent indicator of good performance at GCSE.

"However, I'm concerned that English has fallen this year following the very good progress seen last year and despite a 15 percentage point increase since 1997. We cannot afford to be complacent and need to redouble our efforts to reverse this next year. That's why we have taken strong steps to ensure standards rise, including: almost £1billion extra for personalised learning to stretch the brightest and help the less able; making phonics the prime approach to boost reading at primary school; and improving the Key Stage 3 curriculum.

"These results are good news for the delivery of the Government's ambitions over the next eight years for science and mathematics, published in March of this year, which are all about improving results at KS3 and GCSE, increasing take up at A-level, and boosting the recruitment, retraining and retention of specialist science and maths teachers".

Commenting on the achievement of Academy schools, Jim Knight said:

"It's also great to see such excellent improvements in Academy results. These schools are helping some of the most deprived communities in the country where whole generations of children were virtually written off and stood little chance of achieving anything at school.  The results indicate that Academies (excluding former CTCs) are improving at around three times the national rate in maths and around six times the national rate in science. They are also seeing a big improvement in English, bucking the national trend.

"Capital City Academy in London is reporting a 27 percentage point increase in science, a 19 percentage point increase in maths and an eight percentage point increase in English. They should feel very proud today of this remarkable success - they are turning around generations of underachievement."