Government misses GCSE results targets

The Government has missed its main targets for GCSE results this summer, according to figures from the Department for Education and Skills.

The Government has missed its main targets for GCSE results this summer, according to figures from the Department for Education and Skills.

The figures, published yesterday, show that the proportion of students getting at least five A* to C grades in GCSE exams, or their vocational equivalent, rose by 0.5 percentage points to 53.4 per cent this year. The target demands that the pass rate rises by two percentage points each year.

Another target required 92 per cent of 16-year-olds to pass at least five GCSEs this year in subjects including English and maths. But the proportion fell, from 86.6 per cent last year, to 86.4 per cent this year.

Another target, to have 38 per cent of all pupils achieve at least five A*-C grades at GCSE level, was also missed, although there was a slight improvement on last year.

The figures also show that 35,000 teenagers, or 5.4 per cent, left school with no GCSE or GNVQ passes this year, up from 32,350 the previous year.