Stephen Twigg says that urban schools are making progress

Stephen Twigg says the "Teach First" scheme will now be extended from schools in London to Manchester.

This has brought high-achieving graduates into tough inner-city schools after fast-track teacher training.

Mr Twigg said that he had been "hugely impressed" by the impact of Teach First in London.

Speaking to the Fabian Society, Mr Twigg said he wanted to "explode the myth" that urban schools were failing - and he said that in London, GCSE results were now above the national average.

'Challenging'

This had been helped by initiatives such as Teach First, he said, which drew on a similar Teach for America scheme in inner-city schools in the United States.

This encouraged high-performing graduates to spend two years teaching - and Mr Twigg said that in practice, the majority had stayed in teaching, with some going on to be head teachers.

This attempt to bring talented graduates from leading universities into "challenging" schools was now going to be introduced in Manchester, the minister announced, with an emphasis on finding staff for shortage subjects.