GCSEs: Video and more of your results

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Complete GCSE results from the Yorkshire Post

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Thousands of pupils in the region are collecting their results today, with the number of A* and A grades expected to rise again.

More than three quarters of exams sat by pupils at Sheffield High School were awarded A* or A grades, with 40 per cent scoring the top mark.

There were also record results in the state sector as Roundhay School in Leeds celebrated its best ever pass rates, with 86 per cent of pupils achieving five A* to C grades.

Hull College has a double reason to celebrate with success in both its own results and those of the academy it sponsors. Sirius Academy, which is backed by the college, revealed its first set of GCSE results today, with 40 per cent of pupils achieving at least five A* to C grades, including English and maths.

This is an 11 per cent rise on the former Pickering High which it replaced and is also comfortably above the national benchmark for all schools to get 30 per cent of pupils achieving this standard.

Nationally, while the pass rate rose for the 23rd year in a row, there was another slump in the numbers of pupils taking French and German.

The numbers of pupils taking GCSEs in the three separate sciences - biology, chemistry and physics - has risen, although the proportion being awarded top grades has fallen, according to figures published by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ).

Overall, 69.1% of all GCSE entries were awarded at least a C grade, up two percentage points on 2009. More than one in five (22.6%) entries achieved an A* or an A, up one percentage point on last year.

The rises came despite the number of entries dipping again this year - there were more than 5.37 million entries, compared with 5.47 million in 2009.

After a drop in the number on English entries being awarded a C last year, the pass rate has risen this summer. Almost two-thirds (64.7%) of English entries gained at least a C grade, up from 62.7% in 2009.

In maths, 58.4% of entries achieved a C, up from 57.2% last summer.

For the second year in a row, boys out performed girls in maths, with 58.6% of boys' entries scoring at least a C compared with 58.3% of girls'.

Overall though, girls are still doing better than boys. More than seven in 10 (72.6%) of girls' GCSE entries gained at least a C compared with 65.4% of boys.

Modern languages were the major casualties again this year, continuing the decline seen since the previous government decided the subject would no longer be compulsory after the age of 14.

Today's results show that French entries are down by 5.9%, and entries for German have dropped by 4.5%.

Bucking the trend is Spanish, which saw a 0.9% rise.

More teenagers are also opting for other modern foreign languages - entries for Chinese are up by 5.2%, Portuguese by 9.6% and Polish by 12%.

Despite a 11,070 drop in the numbers taking French, the language is still the most popular choice, with 177,618 students taking the exam this year.

JCQ director Dr Jim Sinclair said: "Students and their teachers can be proud of their achievements.

"The increased entries in biology, chemistry and physics, coupled with improved performance in English and mathematics, is very good news indeed."

Andrew Hall, chief executive of the AQA exam board, said: "Today is a good day for science and quite a sad day for languages."

He said the numbers taking French at GCSE had halved since 2002 and it was the first time "in living memory" that the subject was not in the top 10 most popular subjects.

The proportion gaining a C or above has risen this year, from 70.1% to 71.9%, which Mr Hall said showed "those who are taking it are good at it".

Mr Hall, who has a background working in engineering, said languages were still important for business although English was spoken widely.

"You do need to be able to communicate with people in their own country in their own language," he said.

Ziggy Liaquat, managing director of the Edexcel exam board, said: "It's disappointing to see the decrease of languages."

He said knowledge of languages was "very important" in the global market.

"There is a conversation to be had about how we do make languages more engaging, more interesting, more relevant for young people."

Mr Hall said the rise in Polish entries seemed to be due to a rising number of native speakers.

A paper published today by the Civitas think-tank claims schools are urging pupils to take qualifications that will boost their standing in league tables.

Under the current system, some vocational qualifications can be worth up to four A* to C grades at GCSE. This "greatly incentivises their uptake in schools", according to the report which uses figures from 2008.