The government are targeting 638 schools nationally in which fewer than 30% of pupils achieve at least five good GCSEs including English and maths in their 2007 exams.

The £400m standards drive, which will create up to 70 new academies, was unveiled by schools secretary Ed Balls this week, and threatens Golborne High (26%)and Bedford High (29%). A third Metro school under threat is PEMBEC@Kingsdown High (22%) but that has of course already been earmarked for closure due to falling rolls.

The National Challenge will require every school to achieve the 30% mark within three years or face closure.

However, Bedford head teacher, Steve Preston, is confident his school won't be affected because they are expecting much higher figures this year.

Mr Preston said; "We're extremely relaxed about this. Our predications are that this year the results will be over 40 per cent.

"We have just had an Ofsted inspection which describes us as a satisfactory and improving school where as the report states 'nothing seems too much trouble for teachers and staff at the school' and I can live with that.

"Education is once again being used as a political football by the government and it's rather sad to see."

Wigan's Children and Young People's Service has been given 50 days to produce a rescue plan to improve schools in the area.

For those that fail to make adequate progress there is the threat of intervention and possible closure.

The improvement plans will mean the acceleration of the academy programme, with 313 of these independent state schools set to be up and running by September 2010.

Wigan's current Building Schools for the Future bid - a multi-million pound re-build and re-vamp of Wigan's secondary school stock - currently has no plans for an academy as part of the proposals.

But during a visit to Wigan earlier this year school's secretary Ed Balls said he was not "going to impose an academy for local authorities" but that "tough questions" would be asked if local authorities weren't trying new ways to drive up standards.