GCSE league tables: Michael Gove to target 'coasting schools' He also insisted that not enough pupils were studying subjects covered by the English Baccalaureate which marks out achievement in English, maths, science, foreign languages and either history or geography. Writing in The Telegraph, he said: "There are still real causes for concern. The proportion of children studying EBacc subjects, although rising, is still too low at below 50 per cent. While eight local authority areas could boast more than half of all state-educated pupils entering the EBacc, four local areas couldn't even reach one in five. More than 84,000 children who achieved top grades at the end of primary school did not manage to get the EBacc at the age of 16. Too many schools are coasting with bright intakes but mediocre results. The comments follow the publication of results for more than 4,000 independent and state schools across England. Figures covered GCSEs, A-levels and other qualifications. Figures published for the first time showed that the average GCSE grade achieved by pupils was a high C grade. Some 261 state schools registered average GCSE grades of a C-minus or lower, while pupils at 195 schools averaged straight A grades. Mr Gove said that many schools at the bottom of the table face being hauled out of local council control and turned into independent academies under new leadership. It will set his department on a fresh collision course with town halls after Barking and Dagenham Council in east London successfully sought a High Court injunction last week blocking a government take over of a struggling local comprehensive. But Mr Gove said: "Although the overall picture provides encouraging evidence that our plan is working, we cannot let up. We have always said it will take a decade to get our education system where we want it to be - on a par with the world's best.