In parts of inner-London, numbers now exceed three-quarters.

The disclosure – in new figures published by the Department for Education – follows claims that a surge in pupils with relatively poor English is putting a strain on state schools as teachers struggle to cater for multiple languages in the classroom.

MPs have also warned that a rise in the number of children born to foreign families puts extra pressure on reception places.

It comes as the new Conservative and Liberal Democrat government prepares to outline plans to place an annual limit on the number of immigrants from outside the European Union.

But teachers’ leaders have said that an increase in children with other languages improves schools’ cultural outlook and acts as an inspiration to British born pupils.

According to the latest figures, some 905,610 children do not speak English as a first language in 2010 – a rise of 42,750 in 12 months.

They account for 16 per cent of pupils in primary schools, compared with 15.2 per cent in 2009.

In secondary schools, 11.6 per cent of children speak other languages at home, up from 11.1 per cent a year earlier.

The data is published as part of an annual census of schools in England.

A breakdown of the figures shows a hugely mixed picture across the country.

In 15 council areas in London and the south-east, the majority of primary school pupils now speak English as a second language.

Figures show that in Tower Hamlets, east London, almost 78 per cent of children have another language as their mother tongue, while numbers reach almost 74 per cent in Newham and 71 per cent in Westminster.

In all, numbers exceed a third in 32 of England’s 150 local authorities.

In Leicester and Luton some 48 per cent of children speak English as a second language, compared with 43 per cent in Bradford, 42 per cent in Birmingham, 40.5 in Blackburn and 34 per cent in Manchester.

But in other parts of the country, these children make up a tiny proportion of the overall student body.

Fewer than one per cent of primary pupils in Redcar and Cleveland, in the north-east, and Halton, Merseyside, do not speak English as a first language. Numbers are below two per cent in areas including Durham, Northumberland, Cumbria, Knowsley, St Helens, the East Riding of Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Rutland, Shropshire, Cornwall, Dorset and the Isle of Wight.

Before taking office, the Conservatives said the overall increase in the number of pupils without English as their mother tongue was “shocking” and illustrated “how difficult life is for many teachers” because of Labour’s long-term failure to control immigration.

Some schools have claimed that they lack the funding to provide expert tuition to large numbers of pupils speaking different languages.

A survey of schools in Reading, Berkshire, earlier this year found that schools dealt with pupils speaking 150 languages, ranging from the Ghanaian dialect of Akan to the African language of Chichewa. In 2005, it emerged that pupils at Woodside High School in Tottenham, north London, spoke as many as 58 languages.

But teaching unions have welcomed the numbers, saying they reflect the growing diversity of English schools.

John Dunford, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “Children who come to this country speaking English as a second language are an inspiration to native British children in the speed in which they learn the language and the hard work they put in to pass exams within just a few years.”

Meanwhile, separate figures show a rise in the number of pupils from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Some 25.5 per cent of primary school pupils are classified as non-white British in 2010, compared with 24.5 per cent a year earlier. In secondary schools, numbers increased from 20.6 to 21.4 per cent.