§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what specific steps Her Majesty's Government are taking to ensure the availability of comparative figures for the whole of the United Kingdom which objectively measure the results of the new general certificate of secondary education examination system and the previous one, and in particular, how both systems compare in respect of(a) the percentage of pupils opting out before examinations, (b) the percentage of pupils actually taking academic qualifications and (c) the percentage of pupils failing the examinations.
§ Mrs. RumboldThe range of Government statistics which currently provide information on the nature and extent of academic qualifications obtained by school leavers will be maintained and enhanced. This will permit broad comparisons to be made of the proportions of school leavers entering for, and attaining specific levels of achievement in, the new GCSE examinations and in the former O-level/CSE examinations. These statistics do not cover Scotland, which has a separate examination system from the rest of the United Kingdom.