More schools in Kent are failing than any other county in the country when it comes to GCSE results, according to the latest official data that shows how many schools nationwide are failing to achieve grades that are seen as acceptable. 

At the moment, schools are seen as failing if more than 40 per cent of the pupils in the school are not achieving A* to C grades in the five main subjects on the curriculum. And it was discovered that as many as 329 of the schools across the country are failing to make this mark.

Schools minister Nick Gibb said the results, based on last summer's GCSE grades, showed that even though there had been some improvement in the volume of schools that have met the target, there still "pockets" of failure that need to be targeted. 

When it comes to failing schools, at present there are special measures placed on those which do not meet targets, including being turned into an academy or given a new sponsor to try to raise standards.

At the moment, only five areas across England and Wales are home to more than ten failing schools, and Kent comes top of this list. Kent currently has 20 under-performing schools, while Birmingham (11 schools), Lancashire (11), Lincolnshire (10) and Northamptonshire (10) followed closely behind the county. 

The poor performance of Kent as a county at the present time comes in spite of the fact that there are a number of high performing schools in the county as well. Both Dartford Grammar School and Dartford Grammar School For Girls are bringing in some of the very best grades in the whole nation.