Date: 13 November 2006 20:03


CAMBRIDGESHIRE SCHOOLS CELEBRATE GCSE SUCCESS

Students across Cambridgeshire have been congratulated after another 
record-breaking year of GCSE results.

Results from the summer 2006 exams - which have just been verified by the 
Department for Education and Skills (DfES) - show the number of students 
gaining five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C has risen again.

A total of 59.9% of youngsters achieved five or more passes in this 
category, compared with 57.9% last year and 56% the year before.

This compares with 56.8% of students in local authority schools nationally 
and 59.4% of students in Cambridgeshire's 'statistical neighbours' - 
authorities of a similar size and with a similar economic and social 
profile.

Another sign of positive progress has been Cambridgeshire's continued 
reduction in the proportion of students achieving no GCSE passes at all. 
Just 2% passed no GCSEs in 2006, compared with 3.1% nationally and 2.4% 
amongst the county's statistical neighbours. However, schools are still 
striving to reduce this percentage even more.

Cambridgeshire is now second best in this area, an improvement from 7th in 
2005.

Coun Victor Lucas, Cambridgeshire County Council's Cabinet Member for 
Learning, said: "I never fail to be impressed by Cambridgeshire's continued 
success at GCSE and its year-on-year improvement in the pursuit of further 
excellence. There are several contributory factors - the students' hard 
work, the dedication of their teachers and the support and encouragement 
from their parents and staff at the County Council. All deserve our warmest 
congratulations for another highly successful year."

John Reynolds