GCSE marks hit record high

The top GCSE pass rate has risen to a new high with nearly one in five entries awarded the highest A and A* grades, fuelling debate over the exams' value.

This year 19.5 percent of papers achieved the top two levels -- up 0.4 percentage points -- according to exam board figures released on Thursday.

But there were further large falls in entries for French and German following steep declines over the past two years after modern languages fell out of the compulsory GCSE syllabus in 2004.

Boys continued to catch up with the girls, with the gap between the sexes narrowing by 0.2 percent at A and A* and by 0.6 percent at A*-C.

Pass rates have shown near continuous improvement since the exams, taken by 15 and 16-year-olds, replaced O-levels 20 years ago.

This year there was a tiny fall in the overall pass rate, with papers awarded at least a G grade falling 0.1 percent to 98.0 percent.

But the percentage of papers achieving a "good pass" of at least a C grade, rose to 63.3 percent from 62.4 percent last year.

Critics say students score high grades by abandoning harder subjects such as modern languages or sciences.

Others say schools "teach to the test", improving results at the expense of a more rounded education.

The Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) called for "an education system which encourages real learning and acquiring skills."

"Our current curriculum turns many pupils into cynical test-takers rather than the ever-curious learners we need," said ATL General Secretary Mary Bousted.

She said that despite the record results, over 40 percent of students still fail to get five GCSE passes.

The Federation of Small Businesses meanwhile called for a "major rethink" of secondary education.

It said the upward trend in GCSE results was "masking a deterioration in the level of basic skills that schools are providing their pupils who enter the world of work at 16."

"This leads to reduced productivity in small firms who have to spend the first several weeks of new starters' careers filling in the gaps in their education."

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