HC Deb 26 February 1973 vol 851 c285W
Mr. Worsley

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many children leave secondary schools without taking either the General Certificate of Education ordinary level examinations or the Certificate of Secondary Education examinations; and what proportion that number is of the total number of school leavers.

Mr. St. John-Stevas

Of the 613,000 pupils who left schools in England and Wales during 1970–71, 269,000, or 44 per cent., had attempted neither the GCE nor CSE examinations.