GCSEs: A* Pupil Numbers Fall For Fourth Year

The number of school children achieving A* GCSE grades has fallen slightly for the fourth year in a row, official figures have revealed.

The data published by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) shows that 6.6% of pupils received the top mark this summer - a fall of 0.1%.

Some 8.4% more girls than boys achieved at least a C grade and the overall proportion of pupils getting a C increased by 0.2%

Some 73.1% of girls were awarded C or better, compared to 64.7% of boys, while grades for languages improved despite the number of students taking language GCSEs falling sharply.

Entries for French fell 6.2%, German entries were down 9.2% and Spanish down 2.4%, while data published in May showed a 4% drop in pupils entered for GCSE English this year.

JCQ director general Michael Turner said: "At a national level there is very little change in this year's results but we do see educational policies continuing to have an effect on entry patterns and results at a subject level.

"This is particularly the case in English, mathematics and the sciences."

It comes as hundreds of thousands of teenagers across England, Wales and Northern Ireland receive their long-awaited results.

At Greenwood Academy in Birmingham, comedian Jack Whitehall handed out sealed results to students on live television.

The Bad Education star said his GCSE results had been "mixed".

"I remember being very nervous but you just need to keep telling yourself it's not the end of the world if you mess up," he told students.

Students achieving grades A*-C by region

:: North-east England: 67.2% (1.5)

:: North-west England: 68.6% (0.3)

:: Yorkshire/Humber: 65.3% (0.4)

:: West Midlands: 66.9% (0.2)

:: East Midlands: 65.6% (-0.1)

:: Eastern England: 69.0% (0.2)

:: South-west England: 69.1% (0.1)

:: South-east England: 70.9% (-0.1)

:: London: 72.0% (0.3)

:: England: 68.8% (0.2)

:: Wales: 66.6% (no change)

:: Northern Ireland: 78.7% (0.7)

:: UK: 69.0% (0.2)