League tables to reveal impact of GCSE changes

There was a drop in the number of pupils who achieved five good GCSEs including English and maths in the summer.

Figures published in October showed in Yorkshire it fell by six per cent from 59.1 per cent of pupils in 2013 to 53.1 per cent this year.

This meant the region returned to the bottom of a league table, with the lowest number of pupils making the GCSE benchmark of any region in England.

October’s figures were only broken down by local authority area. Next month tables come out which will show how individual schools fared this summer.

After results day some heads warned they had been particularly affected by changes to the GCSE exam this year. Reforms include only a teenager’s first attempt at an exam counting towards league tables, which has stopped repeat entries and less coursework, with a move towards a more linear qualification.

Jonny Mitchell, the headteacher of Thornhill Community Academy made famous by the Educating Yorkshire TV series, has previously voiced concern that these reforms were adversely affecting schools with higher numbers of pupils on the C/D borderline.