Children's Secretary Ed Balls has been the subject of a backlash from North-East education officials over the publication of a "hit list" of under-performing schools.

Today, in a letter written exclusively for The Northern Echo, Mr Balls has responded to suggestions that the list was a precursor to possible school closures.

Here is Mr Balls' letter in full.

I can reassure Northern Echo readers that I have not released a "hit list" of local schools threatened with closure. "Fury over schools hit list, 1 May".

This claim is completely wrong. In fact these schools can expect extra help over the coming months as part of our new National Challenge programme.

I believe that parents want every school to be a good school, where the pupils get good grades in their GCSEs.

That's why it is right for us to focus more help on those schools where less than 30 per cent of the pupils get 5 GCSEs at grades A*-C including English and maths.

It is really important for young people to have good qualifications so they can go on to further study and a good job.

Many schools which, at the moment, don't meet that 30 per cent benchmark, nonetheless have excellent teaching and leadership and are improving fast.

Many are doing absolutely brilliant work in difficult circumstances.

For these schools, National Challenge will just mean help to keep them on track. I have never described these as failing schools, and I have never said that the number of GCSE passes is the only measure of how well a school is doing.

But it is right for pupils and parents that where schools are not making good progress, they get more intensive support and challenge to help them improve. This might include extra help where it is needed in specific subjects such as in English or maths, or more support to improve behaviour, or schools working together with each other, or with a partner like a local employer or college.

We've seen really good examples across the country where the best heads work with weaker schools to help them improve their results. In some cases, investment in a new Academy will be the right way to transform the educational opportunities for local children.

In others, trusts and federations where schools work closely together will be the answer.

It will take time, hard work, and continued investment in our schools to get there, but I am determined that by 2011, no school will have less than 30 per cent of its pupils achieving less than five A*-Cs including English and Maths. We can only do this by working together. That's why I will be inviting representatives from all local authorities to an event in the summer to talk about the next stage.

But this is not a meeting to head off a threat to close"failing" secondary schools' as the Echo claimed on Monday.

I want every child to be able to achieve and succeed, and I know that's what parents want too. That's why I am determined to give every school and every teacher the funding, the tools and the right support so that they can do their very best for every pupil. They deserve nothing less.

Rt Hon Ed Balls MP Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families