The school standards minister has hailed the latest set of exam results figures.

David Miliband said on Thursday that the last year's GCSE and GNVQ results showed significant improvements in performance.

He particularly praised the upturn in results in schools in deprived and claimed the new "value-added" measure being used in assessments provided the clearest picture of classroom achievements.

Data published by the Department for Education showed that schools "facing challenging circumstances" improved by 2.8 per cent in the number of pupils gaining five or more A* to C grades compared to a 1.3 per cent increase nationally.

The number of schools with less than 20 per cent of students achieving five or more A* to C grades has also fallen by two thirds since 1997 from 361 to 114.

Miliband said the value-added indicators would be extended as a result of their success.

"The GCSE/GNVQ results show that we are making steady upward progress in the numbers gaining five or more passes at grades A* to C," he said.

"I am particularly pleased that those schools facing some of the toughest education challenges in the country have improved at double this rate.

"The introduction of the value added measure into school performance data has given parents a fuller picture on the performance of their child's school.

"The government is showing our commitment to the value added measure by extending it further with the publication today of a pilot table showing value added measure for pupils between 11 and 16."

But Tory spokesman Tim Yeo claimed that the "government is still leaving hundreds of our most vulnerable pupils behind".

"Conservatives would scrap the interfering national targets meaning that schools and Local Education Authorities would be able to better focus their energies with regard to local need," he said.

"We need teacher's deciding what is best for their pupils, not civil servants in Whitehall."