GCSE English and maths pass-rates rise

Councillor Donna Martin

English and mathematics GCSE pass-rates have risen in the borough of Rochdale this year, with grades in both subjects performing above the 2015 provisional national average.

68.4% of English pupils achieved an A*-C grade in the borough, a gain of 2.4% on last year and 3% more than current figures for the rest of the UK.

Maths students saw a pass-rate of 64%, an slight increase of 0.3% compared to 2014 and 0.7% more than this year’s provisional national average.

However, the number of students who obtained five GCSEs including English and Maths dropped slightly by 0.9% to 53%.

Councillor Donna Martin, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services at Rochdale Borough Council, said: “We have seen some really good gains in English and Maths this year and it’s great to see our young people out-performing the provisional national average in these areas. However, it is disappointing to see even a small drop in the number of pupils passing five GCSEs including English and Maths and we will continue to strive for improvement across every subject in the borough.”