Extracts from article on GCSE results this summer:
One in six pupils finished 11 years of compulsory schooling without achieving a single C grade in any subject.This summer only 382,228 took GCSEs in languages - down from 559,115 in 2002.
Fewer than a quarter of state schools require GCSE students to learn languages, according to a report last year.
It found they are fast becoming the preserve of grammar and fee-paying schools as many comprehensives allow them to decline to 'extremely low levels'.84,900 students - 13 per cent - failed to secure one GCSE grade D
The gulf between independent schools and state comprehensives continued, with almost one in three pupils at fee-paying schools - 30.3 per cent - emerging with three As at A-level, against 7.6 per cent at comprehensives.
The above is from a Daily Mail article here.
Posted by James Bartholomew • Indexed in Education
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How is ceasing to force people to study things they don't want to study a failure?
Posted by: fjfjfj at November 6, 2008 10:27 AM
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One factor that is often ignored when the government publishes GCSE and A level results and takes credit for any improvements (leaving aside the issue of grade inflation) is that the overall results include all schools - including those in the independent sector. The independent sector may educate only around 7% of children, but its results are dramatically better, thus pushing up the average results considerably. Practically all independent school pupils get 5 A*-C GCSEs including English and Maths, even the non-selective ones.
It would be interesting to see the overall results minus those of the independent sector.
Posted by: HJ at October 23, 2008 11:08 AM