NI GCSE marks improve

Northern Ireland GCSE students have improved on last year's figures and again outperformed their counterparts in England and Wales.

Figures released by the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) show that of the 203,777 Northern Ireland entries for GCSE Examinations, 6.9% achieved the top A* grade, an increase of 0.8 of a percentage point on last year.

There was also a small increase in entries gaining A* - C, rising from 68.4% in 2002 to 69% this year.

Commenting on the marks, Chief Executive of CCEA Gavin Boyd said: “Today’s statistics show a very impressive performance by the province’s GCSE students. Some people may have heard the reports in recent weeks questioning the relevance of the GCSE. CCEA believes that the GCSE remains a valuable and highly sought after qualification.

"Anyone with any doubts on their currency should take a look at the jobs section in their local newspaper or an application form for college or university. Employers and further and higher education institutions certainly place great importance on GCSE results”.

Although national figures are not due to be released until this Thursday, it is expected that local pupils will also continue to outperform their counterparts in England and Wales.

Overall at GCSE level the gender performance gap, as at A level, has narrowed. At the A* - C grades the difference has reduced from 9.5 to 8.8 percentage points. However at the top A* grade girls have increased their lead over boys from 3.1% in 2002 to 3.3% in 2003.

The most popular GCSE courses in terms of entries for Northern Ireland students remain the traditional English, Maths and Science subjects, with Religious Studies and French also figuring prominently. However this year saw big increases in entries for Spanish (up 13.9%), Information Technology (up 13.1%), Music (up 12.1%) and Home Economics (11.6 %).

(MB)