Record GCSE Results
Issue>
- Ed Balls has congratulated pupils, parents and teachers on a record set of GCSE results.
Key Points
- A decade ago, just 35 per cent of children left school with five good GCSEs including English and Maths. Now it's 48.9 per cent.
- In 1997 half of all schools failed our National Challenge benchmark of 30 per cent of children achieving five good GCSEs. Now just one in twelve are yet to reach this benchmark and we aim to see no school do so by 2011. This shows the benefits of 40,000 more teachers; the best ever teacher training; better heads; and outstanding new facilities over the last decade.
- Detractors shouldn't do down the achievements of children, parents and teachers - the Conservatives this week claimed that we have seen no improvements in education in the past 12 years. Ofsted has been seeing massive improvements, and we have set our further measures to improve the quality of teaching, with guarantees including intensive support and one-to-one tuition.
- The Tories refuse to back our guarantees to young people of a place in training, education or an apprenticeship to 18. They have refused to protect frontline school funding and they would allow schools to be opened in rented office blocks and they propose removing expectations on the facilities and curriculum schools should offer.
- Secretary of State for Education Ed Balls said:
"Thanks to record investment in teachers and schools, coupled with the hard work of pupils, teachers and schools, the improvement in standards means since 1997, over 600,000 more students have left school with at least five good GCSEs.
"I am determined that each and every child gets a world class education regardless of their background, and for that we need excellent schools. We now have the highest number of top performing schools and the fewest low performing schools ever.
"The National Challenge is helping to ensure that every school will have at least 30 per cent of pupils leaving with 5 A*-Cs at GCSE, including English and maths by 2011. But it is about more than reaching a target - it's about schools being on a sustainable path of improvement."
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