EDUCATION officials in the North-East have hit out at the Government's decision to reolease a list of failing schools.

Parents and teachers feared schools on the hit list could close and two furious heads are demanding a face-to-face meeting with Children's Secretary Ed Balls.

Other education officials are known to be concerned about the timing of the lists publication, coming so close to today's local elections where Labour is braced for losses.

The controversial list was released by Mr Balls on Monday. He said the Government was targeting 638 secondary schools in England, including 22 in the North-East and North Yorkshire, with poor GCSE pass rates.

But head teachers said judging schools purely on how many children passed fives GCSEs at grades A to C, including maths and English, was damaging to schools and pupil morale, and told only half the story.

They said no consideration had been given to how much progress students made in school, how many other GCSEs they had gained, or the background of students and the areas they were from.

Headteacher at Blakeston Specialist Sports College in Stockton, Georgiana Sale, said she was so angry, she had e-mailed Mr Balls personally yesterday to request a meeting.

"I'm absolutely determined to go," she said.

"If I have to go and camp out outside his constituency office, I will do it. I am going to speak to him, no matter what.

"It's just not fair. I'm not against people using some sort of measure to show how we are doing - but they ought to be using some sort of value added measure, showing progress, not just a number.

"It's like saying unless you have a 38D bust, you have not got a bust."

Mr Balls said he would be inviting education leaders to a Whitehall summit to discuss how improvements could be made to head off a threat to close failing schools.

All those schools that fail to meet a benchmark of 30 per cent of pupils achieving five A to C grades, including maths and English, in three years would be shut down or taken over by another school.

Of the 638 earmarked by Government, there are four in Middlesbrough, four in County Durham, four in North Yorkshire, three in Redcar and Cleveland, three in Stockton, two in Darlington and two in Hartlepool.

Ms Sale said, despite just hitting 25 per cent of passes in English and maths, Blakeston had surpassed the upper target it was given by the Fisher Family Trust, which has been adopted by Government.

It sets average and upper targets for all schools, based on what level pupils were at when they entered the school, socio-economic issues, and how disadvantaged the area is.

She added: "Blakeston is not a failing school, it's a thriving school."

Stephen Taylor, headteacher of Hall Garth Community College in Middlesbrough, said he would accompany Ms Sale to meet Mr Balls.

Last year, only 16 per cent of his pupils achieved five GCSE's, including both maths and English.

He said: "This whole thing is a farce. Our student progress for last year was in the top three or four in the North-East.

"Our student progress will compare to anywhere in the country. I worked for 15 years in leafy Somerset, where we got 85 per cent passing this benchmark every year, but I believe Hall Garth is better."

Darlington Council's cabinet member for childrens' services Chris McEwan reassured parents that standards are improving.

Darlington had two schools performing below the Government's target of 30 per cent of pupils passing five A*-C grades, including English and Maths.

In 2007, Longfield School had 29 per cent and Haughton School had 24 per cent.

Coun McEwan said: "Darlington is perfectly placed to ensure we go from strength to strength with all seven of our secondary schools contributing to our improvement."

In 2007 Darlington schools achieved their best ever cumulative GCSE results and education officials from the town expect further, significant improvements in examinations being taken this year.

A spokesman for the Department of Children, Schools and Families, agreed that value added progress was important, but said that was not what employers looked at.

He said: "It's important that we drive up standards. We want every school to be a good school.

"I think we are the first to recognise when schools are improving, but it's a case of having to set a coherent benchmark that pupils, schools, and employers can understand."

SCHOOLS THREATENED WITH CLOSURE

County Durham - Durham Gilesgate Sports College; Sunnydale Community College; Wellfield Community School; Moorside Community Technology College.

Darlington - Haughton Community; Longfield School.

Hartlepool: Brierton Community School; Dyke House Comprehensive School.

Middlesbrough: Unity City Academy; Hall Garth; Ormesby; King's Manor School.

Redcar and Cleveland: Freeborough Specialist Engineering College; Gillbrook Technology College; Saint Peter's Catholic College of Maths.

Stockton: Thornaby Community; Blakeston School; The Norton.

North Yorkshire: Raincliffe, Scarborough; Risedale Sports and Community College, Catterick; George Pindar Sports College, Scarborough; Harrogate High.

(Details released by the Department for Children, Schools and Families based on last summer's GCSE results)