STOCKTON'S schools have been praised by the Government for improved test results among 14-year-olds.

Schools in the area have increased results, since last year, by seven percentage points in English, three percentage points in maths and six percentage points in science.

School Standards Minister Jacqui Smith paid tribute to the pupils and teachers in Stockton.

She said: "These results are a testament to the hard work of pupils and the professionalism of teachers in Stockton.

"They show that real movement is being made in our ambitions for secondary schools to get the basics right in the core subjects.

"The first three years of education in secondary school are hugely important. Too often, in the past, they were seen as the fallow years, where pupils were marking time.

"That is why we launched the Key Stage 3 national strategy to improve the quality of teaching, to set a faster pace of learning, and to make sure that children's success at primary school continues on into secondary education."

In the four years since the programme's introduction, about 56,000 more 14-year-olds have achieved the expected level for their age in English than in 1997, and about 50,000 more in mathematics.

The minister said: "Following improvements in this year's other Key Stage tests, GCSEs and A-levels, the Key Stage 3 results confirm that pupils are reaping the benefits of our sustained national drive on standards."

Across the country, there were increases in success rates in all the core subjects - English, maths, science and ICT - with English recording its biggest rise since 1998.