Education Secretary, Michael Gove is expected to announce plans for tougher GCSE targets when he makes his keynote speech to head teachers at the National College for School Leadership annual conference in Birmingham this week.

Several newspapers are reporting today that Mr Gove, is set to make comparisons between UK and European academic achievement and the apparent success of many Asian countries.

The Telegraph reports that in Singapore around 80% of GCSE equivalent students are attaining at least a grade C in English and Maths compared to an average 50% success rate for pupils in Britain.

Mr Gove is likely to use this opportunity to defend the government’s academies programme. Mr Gove has received criticism over the latest phase of academy school conversion due to the reported focus on only successful schools making the change to become these privately run, publicly funded schools within the state sector. In fact, The Guardian reports that Mr Gove is expected to announce that the government will turn at least 88 struggling schools into sponsored academies over the next two years.

Mr Gove is set to announce that every school will be expected to produce 50% A*-C grades at GCSE, including English and maths – and the school will be considered to be underperforming if it does not hit that target. The current threshold is 35%.

Schools Commissioner, Dr Elizabeth Sidwell will play a key role in bringing about these changes. Along with Mr Gove she firmly believes that the academies programme will help to bring about a rise in education standards in the UK. She recently spoke to Wellington College, themselves a sponsor of a new academy. She said,

“My passion for the past 20 years has been to raise standards in our most deprived communities and so close the attainment gap through bringing independence across the state sector via academies and federations. I know this works - I’ve done it, and I’ve seen it. Independence is energising and brings sharp accountability. It is good for schools and for children.”

“My role is to challenge local authorities and schools - including academies - that are not performing. There is no preferential treatment. School improvement must be sustainable. Quick fixes - sticking plasters - aren’t good enough. I want to see evidence of partnerships, of schools working together to share expertise and to provide local solutions that will endure. We need successful schools, including converters and independent private schools, to help support and lead and to commit themselves for the long term.”