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| Another rise in top GCSE grades | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Top grades have improved again on average in the GCSE exam entries across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. | |
| More than 600,000 students are getting their results, and almost one in five entries has been awarded an A* or A. The overall pass rate fell slightly. | |
| The proportion of entries getting grades of A* to C rose from 62.4% to 63.3%, while 19.5% got an A or A*. | The proportion of entries getting grades of A* to C rose from 62.4% to 63.3%, while 19.5% got an A or A*. |
| The gap between boys and girls continues to narrow. Science entries rose, but French and German fell. | The gap between boys and girls continues to narrow. Science entries rose, but French and German fell. |
| However, there was a 3% increase in the number of entries for Spanish and other modern languages as a whole - these include such things as Chinese, Arabic and Polish - were up 5%. | |
| There was a tiny fall in the overall pass rate - entries marked from A* to G - from 98.1% to 98%. | |
| The total number of entries rose a little to just over 5.8 million. About 70% of those were takne by 16-year-olds, with 14% taken by those aged under 16, 11% by those aged 16 to 18 and 5% by students aged over 18 - of whom there were some 50,000. | |
| The proportion of entries achieving A* to A rose from 19.1% to 19.5%. | The proportion of entries achieving A* to A rose from 19.1% to 19.5%. |
| The improvement this year is testament both of effective teaching and the dedication and hard work of students Jim Sinclair, JCQ | The improvement this year is testament both of effective teaching and the dedication and hard work of students Jim Sinclair, JCQ |
| Results in both English and Maths improved slightly, with more pupils scoring at least a grade C in these two key subjects than last year. | Results in both English and Maths improved slightly, with more pupils scoring at least a grade C in these two key subjects than last year. |
| In English, the proportion being graded from A* to C went up from 61.6% to 62.2%. For maths, the proportion rose from 54.3% to 55.2%. | In English, the proportion being graded from A* to C went up from 61.6% to 62.2%. For maths, the proportion rose from 54.3% to 55.2%. |
| Analysts had said schools in England in particular had been under pressure to improve in maths. The government had said its priority was to get the basics right. | Analysts had said schools in England in particular had been under pressure to improve in maths. The government had said its priority was to get the basics right. |
| Girls still outshine boys, but boys continue to catch up across the grades, narrowing the gap. | Girls still outshine boys, but boys continue to catch up across the grades, narrowing the gap. |
| For example, in grades A* to C, the gap narrowed by 0.6 percentage points. | For example, in grades A* to C, the gap narrowed by 0.6 percentage points. |
| 'Positive signs' | 'Positive signs' |
| The statistics were published by the Joint Council for Qualifications - the umbrella group for all the main examination boards. | The statistics were published by the Joint Council for Qualifications - the umbrella group for all the main examination boards. |
| Its director, Jim Sinclair, said: "The improvement in the GCSE results this year is testament both of effective teaching and the dedication and hard work of students. | Its director, Jim Sinclair, said: "The improvement in the GCSE results this year is testament both of effective teaching and the dedication and hard work of students. |
| "There are positive signs overall, with increased entries in mathematics and science, and the performance in all subject areas improving." | "There are positive signs overall, with increased entries in mathematics and science, and the performance in all subject areas improving." |
| Fewer students are studying foreign languages. | Fewer students are studying foreign languages. |
| GCSEs: KEY FACTS 19.5% entries graded A* or A63.3% graded A* to COverall pass rate 98%French and German entries downSingle science entries up | |
| Exam entries in German were down 10.2% from last year to just 81,000, while French fell 8.2%. Teenagers at state schools no longer have to study a foreign language after the age of 14. | |
| There was also a fall in the number of students taking history - entries were down 1.6%. | |
| Subjects such as media studies, business, and statistics increased sharply. | Subjects such as media studies, business, and statistics increased sharply. |
| Schools minister Jim Knight congratulated students. | Schools minister Jim Knight congratulated students. |
| He said was particularly pleased that the gap had narrowed a little further this year between boys and girls. | He said was particularly pleased that the gap had narrowed a little further this year between boys and girls. |
| "That's very encouraging," he said. "Girls outperform boys all over the western world, we need to do better particularly with English and writing." | "That's very encouraging," he said. "Girls outperform boys all over the western world, we need to do better particularly with English and writing." |
| He acknowledged that some businesses were not happy with school leavers' basic skills. | He acknowledged that some businesses were not happy with school leavers' basic skills. |
| "They tell us that we are doing well on computing skills but we need to do better in English and maths." | "They tell us that we are doing well on computing skills but we need to do better in English and maths." |
| This was why schools were being required to meet "much tougher" standards in these core areas, he said. | This was why schools were being required to meet "much tougher" standards in these core areas, he said. |
| Meanwhile some GCSE maths and Information and Communication Technology students are still waiting to get their results. | |
| Principal at Unity City Academy Bob Dore in Middlesbrough said exam board Edexcel told him that his pupils and those in a number of other schools around the country would be getting their results up to 72 hours late. | |
| Mr Dore said: "These are two key subjects which are taken by the vast majority of our Year Eleven students so these results will have a significant impact on the final results. | |
| "We feel sorry for our students having to wait longer before they know their full results but these circumstances are outside our control." |