Inner-London schools are promised a clearer sense of direction

Struggling inner-London schools face an intensive programme of investment and monitoring - with the threat of closure for those that fail to improve.

Prime Minister Tony Blair, speaking at the Globe Theatre in Southwark, south London, presented rescue plans for five local authorities that will include new schools, cheap mortgages for teachers and a "zero-tolerance" of bad behaviour from pupils.

"No parent should be without the choice of a good primary or secondary school," said Mr Blair, promising that parents in the capital would have more involvement in how newly-built schools were to be run.

Improvement plans will be tailor-made for each low-performing school - and where these are not successful, schools will be closed.

London schools Targeted areas: Hackney, Haringey, Islington, Lambeth, Southwark 20 brand new schools 30 new city academies 20 new sixth form colleges 290 more specialist schools Subsidised mortgages for teachers More flexibility for school hours and staffing, tougher on bad behaviour London schools' bumpy ride

This "unremitting focus" will be applied to five authorities - Hackney, Haringey, Islington, Lambeth and Southwark - where Mr Blair said standards were "unacceptably low".

In these areas, six out of ten pupils were not achieving five good GCSEs, and in the worst 40 schools, less than a quarter of pupils were reaching this benchmark, said Mr Blair.

The plans, described by Education Secretary Charles Clarke as the most radical changes in London since the Second World War, will mean more school buildings and a change of status for hundreds of schools.

School buildings

There will be 20 new schools, 30 new city academies and 20 new sixth form centres. And there will be an additional 290 schools with specialist status.

Tony Blair promised investment but demanded improvements in return

The new schools could be run by parents' groups, suggested Mr Blair, announcing that there would be an open competition to build and run them.

Schools will also be given greater flexibility over their hours, with the intention of extending access beyond the traditional school day.

The city academy system, which creates state-funded independent schools, is also to be extended, with the aim of creating centres of excellence in deprived areas.

And there will be more specialist schools, which receive extra money to develop a particular strength, such as in science, technology, the arts or sport.

The targeted boroughs, which include many deprived inner-city communities, have already faced a series of standards-raising initiatives, which have sought to tackle underachievement.

There have been "action zones", the use of private sector contractors, "fresh start" and extra funding from the "excellence in cities" project.

But these have had mixed results. Islington's contracted-out education service has been fined for failing to reach exam targets. And the "fresh start" scheme to close and re-open failing schools has been side-lined.

The National Union of Teachers, rejecting the initiative, highlighted that "four of those authorities have had their services privatised and have been let down by those private companies".

Schools in London are seen as having particular problems - beyond the difficulties of bad behaviour and truancy in many inner-city areas around the country.

Staffing problems

High house prices have made it hard for schools to attract and keep teachers - and many schools depend on temporary and overseas staff.

London Schools Minister Stephen Twigg opened the first city academy in London last year

The large number of schools in the capital, and mobility across borough boundaries, also creates a sharper divide between the most and least desirable schools - creating many "sink" schools.

Under the proposals, teachers are to be encouraged to stay in London - the most expensive part of the UK for property - by offering them a subsidised mortgage scheme, to be aimed at senior school staff.

Schools in these areas are also be allowed greater flexibility in the recruitment and retention packages they can offer staff.

The education secretary said that the strategy would attempt to reverse the "anguish" faced by many London parents, who felt that they did not have a good choice of schools for their children.

He also hoped it would reverse the numbers of parents who opted for the private sector - with London having a disproportionately high number of independent school pupils.

The Conservatives dismissed the proposals as "just more hype, rather than a serious radical reform of London schools".

"When so many London local authorities are facing making teachers redundant as a result of the Government's mess in funding, it is a bit rich for Charles Clarke to start threatening heads and teachers with the sack," said the Shadow Education Secretary, Damian Green.

The Secondary Heads Association welcomed plans to improve teacher recruitment and retention, but warned that introducing a more diverse range of schools could create a "steeper hierarchy", which would work against the least popular schools.