Two reports revealing poor standards in many of the largest multi-academy trusts (MATs) should be the ‘final nail in the coffin' for Whitehall's controversial education policy, it has been claimed.

The Education Policy Institute think-tank urged the Government to ‘ditch full academisation as a policy objective' after it found nine of the lowest performing secondary school groups were MATs.

It also found 20 of the 50 MATs investigated fell ‘significantly below' national averages for improvement.

A separate study by the Sutton Trust think-tank claimed a majority of MATs were ‘not improving' and ‘may be harming the prospects of disadvantaged students'.

The trust called on Whitehall to ‘act radically and rapidly' to ensure the promise of the programme was realised or there was a ‘real danger' it became part of the problem rather than the solution.

National Union of Teachers acting general secretary Kevin Courtney said education secretary Nicky Morgan should hang her head in shame.

He said failure to repeal the programme would be an admission that the Government was ‘willing to accept that disadvantaged children will be consigned to a worse standard of education than if they continued to be educated in local authority maintained schools'.