Last year the city's secondary schools crashed to the bottom of a table of 150 education authorities based on the level of pupils who achieve five A* to C grades, including English and Maths, at GCSE.

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Today's result shows the authority has moved up by just one position to 149th, as less than a third of the city's pupils reached the expected standard in last summer's exams. Only Knowsley in Merseyside achieved worst results.

Four of Hull's 14 secondary schools are among the worst 200 in the country and Endeavour High School is rated as the fifth worst in the country for adding value to its pupils' performance.

However, the level of pupils achieving five A* to C grades did increase from 25.9 per cent in 2006 to 30 per cent last summer – an improvement of 4.1 per cent.

Hull Council's portfolio holder for lifelong learning, Coun Mike Ross, said: "While Hull is still placed at the lower end of the national league table, looking behind the numbers shows the real improvements that are being made in Hull schools.

"The rate of progress at five GCSEs, including English and Maths is amongst the best in the country, and that shows the real achievement taking place in Hull's secondary schools. It also demonstrates that there is real ability in Hull schools to continue moving forward in the education standards that they deliver.

"As the council, we will continue to work with partners across the city to deliver the changes that are required to deliver the education that Hull truly deserves."

Nigel Richardson, the authority's director of children and young people's services, said: "Moving off the bottom of the table is a huge achievement for the city, and proves that we have the ability to drive our schools forward.

"The results are a credit to the teaching staff, governors, parents, carers and, of course, to the pupils themselves.

"The movement from 25.9 per cent to 30 per cent over 12 months makes Hull one of the fastest improving authorities, which shows what we are capable of delivering.

"But let's not forget that, while today's confirmation of last year's results are encouraging, we are still nowhere near where we want to be if we are serious about transforming the life chances of the next generation.

"What I do know is that we have a dedicated partnership working very hard across the city to see these results move from strength to strength."