§ 26. Mr. McCabeTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Emloyment if he will make a statement on the trend in the percentage of pupils gaining five or more A* to C grade GCSEs since 1997. [152575]
§ Ms Estelle MorrisThe percentage of 15-year-old pupils gaining five or more A*-C grades at GCSE or the GNVQ equivalent has increased from 45.1 per cent. in 1996–97 to 49.2 per cent. in 1999–2000. The overall increase was four percentage points with an increase of at one percentage point in each of the intervening years. This shows that the figures are on track to reach the target of 50 per cent. by 2002.