Education Secretary Nicky Morgan has announced a raft of new measures for the education sector, all of which are aimed at tackling levels of underachievement that can be seen across the UK. 

Among these changes will be earlier and tougher testing for primary school aged children, and the placing of the best teachers in schools that are in need of improvement. 

Mrs Morgan said more "robust and rigorous" checks on progress earlier in the education of children would help to identify if they are mastering the basics in their early years at school, meaning that those who are not would be able to get the help they need before they have to step up to secondary school. 

It will mean pupils at the age of seven across the nation facing tougher tests in their early years to see if they are learning the fundamentals of education.

The driver for this change has been the news that there are 20 local authorities in England and Wales where most pupils do not achieve five good GCSEs, including English and maths.

Another move that comes as a result of this is the government's announcement that it will be recruiting a pool of elite teachers, some of the very best performers in the country, who will be asked to teach in schools where there is significant underachievement. 

will recruit a pool of 1,500 high-achieving teachers over five years who would be deployed to coastal towns and rural areas to bring up the standards where they are slipping most. 

Staff will be given a financial incentive to enrol on this scheme, and it is expected that most would spend as much as three years teaching in these areas. 

"Too many young people aren't being given a fair shot to succeed because of where they live," said Mrs Morgan. 

"Coastal towns and rural areas struggle because they struggle to recruit and retain good teachers, they lack that vital ingredient that makes for a successful education.

"The National Teaching Service will play a key part in solving this problem."