People in secondary teaching jobs across the UK will be encouraged by latest government figures, which show more schools are meeting baseline targets on GCSEs. 

There are around 3,200 state-funded schools in the UK and around 154 of these are considered to be under-performing, which is a decrease of 61 on the figures from last year. 

An institution is deemed to be under-performing if fewer than two-fifths of its pupils pass GSCEs including maths and English, achieving grades between A* and C. 

Following the publication of the data, education secretary Michael Gove praised teachers.

"These figures are a credit to the professionalism and hard work of teachers," he stated.

"Thanks to their efforts, the number of children taught in under-performing schools has fallen by almost 250,000 since 2010."

For the first time, this year's figures for students aged 16 and over have been split into academic and vocational qualifications. Prior to this, ministers believe parents were being confused by the results and some schools may have been masking bad academic performances with good vocational ones. 

Data from more than 4,000 state and independent schools has been published, encompassing qualifications taken by students in the summer of 2013.

Analysis of the figures shows the national average is for 60 per cent of students to achieve five good GCSEs (A* - C) including maths and English. 

The number of students awarded the English Baccalaureate also increased to 23 per cent of state-school pupils, up from 16 per cent in the previous year.

This report also includes the introduction of the "best eight" measure, which reveals the average GCSE grade achieved by a school's students in eight predetermined subjects, including English and maths. 

From 2017, this will replace the five A* - C criteria on which schools are judged, but is being presented purely for reference at the current time.

What do you think of the figures? Are they a testament to the efforts of teachers? Let us know your thoughts.