COUNTY education chiefs say they are confident that more than 30 of Kent’s poorest secondary schools will meet fresh Government targets by 2012.

The Government has told all education authorities to draw up plans setting out how they intend to improve classroom standards at low-performing schools.

In Kent, there are 32 secondary schools that on the basis of this year’s league tables passes fall short of the Gordon Brown’s target for at least 30 per cent of pupils to achieve five or more GCSE passes including maths and English. That is one of the highest numbers in the south east.

But Cllr Chris Wells said he was certain that all the schools on the list would meet the target before the deadline of 2012.

"We can say with absolute confidence that these targets will be met before 2012. It is not about poverty or social deprivation, it is about excelling in educational quality and excelling in motivation."

He added: "Of the 32 schools that have been inspected by Ofsted, 16 are either good or outstanding and 11 are satisfactory, which means they have good features.

"We recognise these schools need help and we have been working with the Specialist Schools Trust and the Academies Trust to improve English and maths."

The KCC opposition Labour group said Kent’s selective system was to blame for the high number of poorly-performing schools and the county council needed to "wake up quickly to these performance problems".

Cllr Clive Hart, children’s spokesman, said: "Local councils with high numbers of grammar schools are among those with poor performance figures. Kent has one of the highest numbers of grammar schools in the country."

Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families Ed Balls has set a summer deadline for education authorities to draw up plans.

In an interview, he said: "I’m expecting every local authority to have an action plan for those schools below 30 per cent (A* to C at GCSE including English and maths) as well as the coasting schools. It will require every authority to play its role."