Best headteachers may get control of weakest schools

England's most successful headteachers could be put in charge of the country's worst secondary schools in the hope that they can repeat their achievement where their expertise is most needed.

Charles Clarke, the Secretary of State for Education, wants to see federations of secondary schools set up around the country – with proven heads put in charge of spreading good practice to the poorest performers. The federations, of up to half a dozen schools, would typically include one or two struggling schools twinned with those that are performing better – a move being pioneered in Bradford with the Government's blessing.

Mr Clarke is adamant that the proposal should not be seen as creating "superheads" for the schools concerned. Union leaders say the heads should receive higher salaries, of about £100,000 a year, to take on the job. Currently, 23 schools are on a list of those where 15 per cent of pupils have failed to obtain five A* to C-grade passes in their GCSEs over the past two years. Ministers say the proposal will help some of them to improve standards. Other options include reopening the schools under the Fresh Start initiative with a new name and new staff – or seeking commercial sponsorship to reopen them as City Academies.

The federation plan is gaining momentum – and particularly in Nottingham. The city has three schools on the list (one of which has already been scheduled to close) and two others that also failed to reach the 15 per cent target this year. It is planning to partner all its low-achieving schools with high-flyers so teaching expertise can be shared.

Mr Clarke is to spell out his vision for the future of secondary education in a speech on Monday that will coincide with the publication of a paper outlining his plans.

The move towards establishing federations is also gathering momentum in Bradford, whose council is thought to be furthest along the road towards setting up such a scheme. The city's education service, which is now run by a private contractor called Education Bradford, has already drawn up plans to group all its 28 secondary schools into five federations.

A "Centre for Excellence" will also be set up which will "identify, share and promote" good practice between schools and provide assistance to the federations. The federations are being set up along geographical lines with five to six schools in each – although there will be opportunities to share expertise across federation boundaries. Each federation also includes a college and training organisation.

Tony Thornley, the director of strategy for Education Bradford, said that each federation included "a very good cross-section of schools" from those that were top performers at GCSE level and those placed just above the bottom.

Other education authorities moving towards establishing secondary school federations include Birmingham, Essex and Gateshead.