§ Dr. Hampsonasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what percentage of school leavers in England and Wales in 1972–73 and 1973–74 gained no passes at GCE O level or CSE.
§ Mr. Armstrong:In 1972–73 the proporion of school leavers who had gained no GCE pass or CSE qualification of Grade 5 or better was 7.6 per cent. Information for 1973–74 is not yet available. Due to the raising of the school leaving age, most of the school leavers in 1972–73 were pupils who had stayed at school in order to take examinations and the proportion was therefore much lower than it had been in previous years. The comparable figure for 1971–72, for example, was 43–4 per cent.