Revealed: London's 55 failing schools

The full list of London's failing schools can be revealed today.

Evening Standard has obtained the names of the capital's 55 state schools told to improve or face closure. Yesterday, we revealed figures which showed failure rates are far worse in London than elsewhere.

And today's detailed breakdown shows leafy suburbs are just as likely to contain poor primary or comprehensive schools as the inner city. While some inner-London boroughs - especially Southwark - have an acute problem, the same is also true of fringe authorities such as Barnet and Enfield.

Of the 55 put in "special measures" by Ofsted at the start of the school year last September, 32 were primaries, 18 were secondaries, two were special schools and one was a pupil referral unit, to which expelled children are sent. Eight schools - including two in Southwark - were removed from Ofsted's failure list by Christmas because they had satisfied inspectors that they were on the road to recovery.

But another six schools in the capital were added, giving a total of 53 in special measures by the end of 2004, only a slight improvement on the peak of 55 in September. Today, headteachers warned that schools will continue to fail unless they get more money to recruit experienced staff. Tim Benson, the leader of the National Association of Head Teachers in London, said: "Children in London are disadvantaged by having poor schools because they can't get the teachers they deserve."

London had been forced to rely on inexperienced young teachers and temporary supply staff for years, he said. Soaring living costs in the capital and the difficulty of dealing with high levels of bad behaviour meant that experienced teachers often moved when they wanted to have a family. The proportion of London schools in the failure category is 2.3 per cent, the highest in England. Only Yorkshire and Humberside, at 2 per cent, came close, compared with only 0.6 per cent in the North-East.

At The Warren school, Romford, acting head Bernadette Lloyd said that in January's visit, Ofsted agreed there had been "vast improvements" in behaviour since she arrived.

Ms Lloyd added: "Schools don't go down overnight and one cannot expect Warren to suddenly make up the ground lost over the years."

A Barnet council spokeswoman said: "Four schools have already been removed this year and no new ones have been placed in special measures.

"This is a fantastic achievement and due to the hard work and commitment of our staff, parents, governors and pupils."

A Department for Education and Skills spokeswoman said: "London schools face a combination of challenges and that is why the Government is investing in programmes such as London Challenge and Excellence in Cities.

"Last year's GCSE results showed that London schools continue to improve at a faster rate than the national average.

"More London children are now getting five GCSEs and equivalents at grades A*-C than the average."