GCSE failures worst in region

Hundreds of Blackpool teenagers are being made to resit their maths and English GCSEs after failing the crucial tests at school.
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According to data release by the Department for Education more than half- 53 per cent - of last summer’s school leavers in the resort flunked, or didn’t reach the required grade in their exams.

Blackpool saw worse overall attainment scores than the rest of the North West, and behind the national average.

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Of the of 1,135 students who took GCSEs in the summer, 603 will have to resit in June. Students who don’t make the benchmark grade four, previously a C, at school in the core subjects have to resit.

The Government defines a grade five as a ‘strong pass’, which is between a B and a C in the old system.

Girls were more successful than boys, with 53 per cent achieving a grade four or above in English and maths compared with 42 per cent of boys.

The gap narrowed at grade five and above, with 30 per cent of girls getting a ‘strong pass’ compared with 24 per cent of boys.

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A spokesman for the Association of School and College Leaders said publishing how many pupils achieved a ‘strong pass’ was “an extremely confusing message for young people, their parents and employers.”