GCSEs down for first time ever - but Shropshire bucks trend
The number of students gaining at least a C grade in their GCSEs has fallen for the first time in the exam's history, official figures revealed today.
The results also show drops in the percentage of English, maths and science GCSE entries achieving passes at A*-C. Today's national figures reveal that 69.4 per cent of all GCSE exams were given at least a C grade – down 0.4 percentage points on last year.
It is the first time the A*-C pass rate has fallen in the 24-year history of GCSEs.
But schools in Shropshire appeared to be bucking the trend, with several reporting their best ever results.
There was also a fall in the proportion of GCSEs awarded the top grades, today's data shows.
Some 7.3 per cent of entries were given an A*, down 0.5 percentage points on 2011, while 22.4 per cent were handed at least an A grade, down 0.8 percentage points.
The statistics show a decrease in the proportion of GCSEs awarded at least a C grade in the core subjects of English, maths and science.
In English, 63.9 per cent got at least a C, compared to 65.4 per cent last summer, while 15 per cent were awarded an A or A*, down from 16.8 per cent in 2011.
In English literature, 76.3 per cent were awarded A*-C, compared to 78.4 per cent last year, and 23.2 per cent got at least an A, against 25 per cent in 2011.
In maths, 58.4 per cent of entries got at least a C grade, down from 58.8 per cent in 2011, and 15.4 per cent got A*-A, compared to 16.5 per cent last summer.
In science, 60.7 per cent got A*-C, down from 62.9 per cent and 9.8 per cent got A*-A, down from 11.6 per cent in 2011.
The Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), which publishes today's national results, insisted that the drop in A*-C English results is partly down to more candidates sitting the exam earlier, during the winter exam season.
The number of entries for English GCSE, including English literature, has increased by 3.1 per cent, JCQ said.
It added that there was a 'dramatic' increase in entries for science GCSE – up 36.5 per cent – and said that the fall in results at A*-C in this subject is partly due to a 'more demanding standard' introduced this year, and a 'significant' increase in entries by 15-year-olds.
Around 600,000 teenagers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are receiving their GCSE results today.
The gap between girls and boys stalled at the very top grades, with 18.9 per cent of boys' entries achieving an A* and A, compared to 25.6 per cent of girls' entries – a percentage gap of 6.7 per cent, the same as there was in 2011.
At grades A* to C, girls are pulling away, with 65.4 per cent of boys' entries attaining that level, compared to 73.3 per cent of girls' entries. Last year, 66 per cent of boys' entries achieved A* to C, compared to 73.5 per cent of girls' entries.
