GCSE results (Attainment 8)

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1. Main facts and figures

  • the average ‘Attainment 8’ score for pupils in England was 50.2 out of 90.0 in the 2019 to 2020 academic year – Attainment 8 measures pupils’ results in 8 GCSE-level qualifications
  • pupils from the Chinese ethnic group had the highest score out of all ethnic groups (67.6)
  • White Gypsy and Roma pupils had the lowest score (23.3)
  • in every ethnic group, girls had a higher average score than boys
  • in every ethnic group, pupils eligible for free school meals had a lower average score than non-eligible pupils

2. Things you need to know

What the data measures

The data measures the results of pupils at state-funded mainstream schools in 8 GCSE-level qualifications, known as ‘Attainment 8’.

Attainment 8 is a way of measuring how well children do in key stage 4, which they usually finish when they are 16 years old.

The 8 subjects which make up Attainment 8 include English and maths. Out of the remaining 6 subjects:

  • 3 must come from qualifications that count towards the English Baccalaureate (EBacc), like sciences, language and history

  • 3 qualifications can be either GCSE qualifications (including EBacc subjects) or technical awards from a list approved by the Department for Education

Each grade a pupil achieves is assigned a point score from 9 (the highest) to 1 (the lowest).

A pupil’s Attainment 8 score is calculated by adding up the points for their 8 subjects, with English and maths counted twice. A school's Attainment 8 score is the average of all of its eligible pupils’ scores.

Attainment 8 scores are rounded to 1 decimal place.

Not included in the data

Figures for local authorities with only one school are not shown in the data.

The ethnic groups used in the data

Data is shown for the 16 ethnic groups used in the 2001 Census, with 2 exceptions:

  • there are extra categories for Traveller of Irish Heritage and White Gypsy and Roma pupils

  • pupils in the Chinese ethnic group are in a separate category

Local authority data does not include figures for pupils in the ‘Other’ ethnic group. These pupils are included in the ‘All’ category, which also includes pupils whose ethnicity was not known.

Ethnicity was unknown for 1.7% of pupils.

Methodology

Read the detailed methodology document for the data on this page.

Exams were cancelled in summer 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Students were awarded the higher of the following 2 grades:

  • a centre assessment grade based on what their school or college believed they would have achieved had exams gone ahead
  • their calculated grade using a model developed by the qualifications regulator Ofqual

Because of this, data for the 2019 to 2020 academic year should not be compared with data for previous years.

In the data file

See Download the data for data by:

  • type of school
  • type of selection
  • religion of school

Some figures do not add up to the total for all pupils when separated by certain factors, for example, religion of school or special educational needs(SEN).

For SEN, this is because pupils with unknown SEN provision have been included in the SEN total but do not have their own breakdown. For the school admission and religious character factors, further education colleges with 14 to 16 provision are included in the total for all state-funded schools, but not in the breakdowns.

3. By ethnicity

Average Attainment 8 score (out of 90.0) by ethnicity
Ethnicity Score Pupils
All 50.2 561,994
Asian 54.5 61,023
Bangladeshi 53.9 10,372
Indian 60.7 16,129
Pakistani 49.3 24,275
Asian other 57.4 10,247
Black 48.9 32,935
Black African 50.9 21,299
Black Caribbean 44.0 7,378
Black other 47.4 4,258
Chinese 67.6 1,959
Mixed 50.8 29,481
Mixed White/Asian 55.9 6,654
Mixed White/Black African 51.1 3,706
Mixed White/Black Caribbean 44.8 8,028
Mixed other 52.1 11,093
White 49.7 416,504
White British 49.7 383,021
White Irish 55.6 1,648
Gypsy/Roma 23.3 1,354
Irish Traveller 31.8 160
White other 50.7 30,321
Other 50.6 10,522
Unknown 41.4 9,570

Download table data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity’ (CSV)

Summary of GCSE results (Attainment 8) By ethnicity Summary

Figures for the White Gypsy and Roma and Traveller of Irish Heritage ethnic groups are based on a small number of pupils and are less reliable as a result.

The data shows that:

  • the average Attainment 8 score for pupils in England was 50.2 out of 90.0 in the 2019 to 2020 academic year
  • pupils from the Chinese ethnic group had the highest average Attainment 8 score out of all ethnic groups (67.6 out of 90.0)
  • White Gypsy and Roma (23.3) and Traveller of Irish Heritage (31.8) pupils had the lowest score, followed by Black Caribbean pupils (44.0)

4. By ethnicity and gender

Average Attainment 8 score (out of 90.0) by ethnicity and gender
Boys Girls
Ethnicity Boys Score Boys Pupils Girls Score Girls Pupils
All 47.4 286,588 53.1 275,406
Asian 51.9 31,129 57.1 29,894
Bangladeshi 51.5 5,143 56.3 5,229
Indian 58.2 8,308 63.3 7,821
Pakistani 46.8 12,280 51.9 11,995
Asian other 54.5 5,398 60.5 4,849
Black 45.1 16,436 52.6 16,499
Black African 47.4 10,522 54.3 10,777
Black Caribbean 40.1 3,700 47.8 3,678
Black other 42.7 2,214 52.4 2,044
Chinese 65.4 957 69.7 1,002
Mixed 47.7 14,814 54.0 14,667
Mixed White/Asian 52.5 3,410 59.4 3,244
Mixed White/Black African 47.1 1,831 54.9 1,875
Mixed White/Black Caribbean 41.4 3,906 48.1 4,122
Mixed other 49.4 5,667 54.9 5,426
White 47.0 212,811 52.6 203,693
White British 47.0 195,714 52.5 187,307
White Irish 52.3 837 59.0 811
Gypsy/Roma 21.2 687 25.6 667
Irish Traveller 27.8 75 35.4 85
White other 47.8 15,498 53.7 14,823
Other 47.2 5,445 54.3 5,077
Unknown 39.6 4,996 43.4 4,574

Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and gender’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and gender’ (CSV)

Summary of GCSE results (Attainment 8) By ethnicity and gender Summary

Figures for the White Gypsy and Roma, and Traveller of Irish Heritage ethnic groups are based on a small number of pupils and are less reliable as a result.

The data shows that:

  • the average Attainment 8 score was 53.1 for girls, and 47.4 for boys
  • in every ethnic group, girls had a higher average score than boys
  • girls from the Chinese ethnic group had the highest average score out of all groups (69.7) – boys from the White Gypsy and Roma ethnic group had the lowest score (21.2)
  • the Chinese ethnic group had the smallest gap between girls (69.7) and boys (65.4)
  • the Black Other ethnic group had the biggest gap between girls (52.4%) and boys (42.7%)

5. By ethnicity and eligibility for free school meals

Average Attainment 8 score (out of 90.0) by ethnicity and eligibility for free school meals
Free school meals No free school meals
Ethnicity Free school meals Score Free school meals Pupils No free school meals Score No free school meals Pupils
All 38.6 88,666 52.3 473,328
Asian 47.1 10,443 56.0 50,580
Bangladeshi 50.0 2,707 55.3 7,665
Indian 51.9 1,143 61.4 14,986
Pakistani 44.7 5,162 50.6 19,113
Asian other 46.4 1,431 59.1 8,816
Black 43.7 8,265 50.6 24,670
Black African 45.8 5,153 52.5 16,146
Black Caribbean 39.0 2,039 45.9 5,339
Black other 42.2 1,073 49.1 3,185
Chinese 62.8 140 68.0 1,819
Mixed 40.5 6,321 53.7 23,160
Mixed White/Asian 42.2 1,062 58.5 5,592
Mixed White/Black African 43.4 832 53.3 2,874
Mixed White/Black Caribbean 37.0 2,244 47.9 5,784
Mixed other 42.2 2,183 54.5 8,910
White 35.8 59,303 52.0 357,201
White British 35.6 55,375 52.1 327,646
White Irish 38.3 223 58.3 1,425
Gypsy/Roma 21.1 497 24.6 857
Irish Traveller 25.1 89 40.2 71
White other 42.8 3,119 51.6 27,202
Other 44.8 2,783 52.7 7,739
Unknown 37.9 1,411 42.0 8,159

Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and eligibility for free school meals’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and eligibility for free school meals’ (CSV)

Summary of GCSE results (Attainment 8) By ethnicity and eligibility for free school meals Summary

Figures for the White Gypsy and Roma and Traveller of Irish Heritage ethnic groups are based on a small number of pupils and are less reliable as a result.

Eligibility for free school meals (FSM) in England is used as an indicator of deprivation.

The data shows that for pupils eligible for free school meals:

  • the average Attainment 8 score was 38.6, compared with 52.3 for non-eligible pupils
  • in every ethnic group, they had lower average scores than non-eligible pupils
  • pupils from the Chinese ethnic group had the highest average score (62.8) – White Gypsy and Roma pupils had the lowest (21.1)
  • the biggest gap was in the White Irish ethnic group – their average score was 38.3, compared with 58.3 for non-eligible pupils

6. By ethnicity and special education needs

Average Attainment 8 score (out of 90.0) by ethnicity and special education needs
No identified SEN Any SEN SEN support SEN with a statement or EHC plan
Ethnicity No identified SEN Score No identified SEN Pupils Any SEN Score Any SEN Pupils SEN support Score SEN support Pupils SEN with a statement or EHC plan Score SEN with a statement or EHC plan Pupils
All 53.7 477,952 30.7 82,093 36.4 60,251 15.2 21,842
Asian 57.2 54,832 30.4 6,189 36.8 4,432 14.4 1,757
Black 52.0 28,402 29.6 4,532 35.8 3,222 14.4 1,310
Chinese 69.1 1,839 45.1 120 53.0 78 30.4 42
Mixed 54.1 25,185 31.4 4,292 37.0 3,153 16.0 1,139
White 53.2 351,792 30.8 64,654 36.3 47,662 15.2 16,992
Other 53.0 9,345 31.4 1,175 36.7 885 15.5 290
Unknown 51.1 6,557 29.7 1,131 34.7 819 16.7 312

Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and special education needs’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and special education needs’ (CSV)

Summary of GCSE results (Attainment 8) By ethnicity and special education needs Summary

The data shows that, for pupils with special education needs:

  • the average Attainment 8 score was 30.7 compared with 53.7 for pupils without special education needs
  • pupils from the Chinese ethnic group had the highest average Attainment 8 score (45.1) out of all ethnic groups
  • Black pupils had the lowest score (29.6)

7. By ethnicity and local authority

Average Attainment 8 score (out of 90.0) by ethnicity and local authority
All Asian Black Chinese Mixed White
Geography All Score All Pupils Asian Score Asian Pupils Black Score Black Pupils Chinese Score Chinese Pupils Mixed Score Mixed Pupils White Score White Pupils
All - England 50.2 561,994 54.5 61,023 48.9 32,935 67.6 1,959 50.8 29,481 49.7 416,504
Barking and Dagenham 49.7 2,525 56.5 555 51.3 733 65.0 10 45.0 211 45.6 936
Barnet 60.1 4,010 70.4 560 53.9 513 76.8 42 61.2 405 59.5 1,951
Barnsley 46.1 2,303 59.6 9 42.9 16 69.8 2 53.9 51 48.5 2,082
Bath and North East Somerset 53.3 2,166 59.9 30 51.4 24 68.5 4 50.2 112 53.6 1,845
Bedford 48.7 1,943 49.0 286 47.6 136 62.1 4 45.1 160 49.0 1,308
Bexley 53.5 3,150 65.5 266 57.2 662 71.8 31 54.7 208 49.9 1,888
Birmingham 49.2 13,973 51.6 5,440 46.2 1,888 69.8 53 47.5 1,079 48.6 4,464
Blackburn with Darwen 49.7 1,968 54.5 905 40.8 18 withheld to protect confidentiality 1 49.2 53 45.3 951
Blackpool 40.9 1,271 48.2 29 32.7 5 61.8 4 39.1 53 40.8 1,173
Bolton 48.3 3,549 52.6 875 43.2 204 58.6 8 48.0 141 47.2 2,262
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 54.0 3,572 63.9 98 57.0 20 62.0 18 56.0 146 54.0 3,124
Bracknell Forest 50.5 1,219 58.7 60 48.4 39 56.9 5 48.8 55 50.2 1,053
Bradford 45.7 6,391 47.2 2,853 42.3 135 68.2 5 42.6 281 44.7 2,928
Brent 53.1 3,078 55.8 927 48.8 687 52.5 4 51.9 220 50.9 547
Brighton and Hove 51.9 2,275 51.8 78 44.0 41 58.8 11 53.5 216 51.9 1,839
Bristol, City of 48.6 3,481 51.5 313 43.0 408 66.8 12 48.1 280 49.3 2,361
Bromley 54.5 3,411 68.9 254 53.6 362 74.8 40 53.5 341 53.1 2,314
Buckinghamshire 58.0 5,981 60.5 1,229 55.3 186 75.9 30 55.6 360 57.4 4,080
Bury 48.1 2,174 49.5 322 42.7 66 53.4 8 47.2 107 48.1 1,629
Calderdale 52.3 2,634 54.0 455 55.9 23 72.1 4 51.8 114 51.8 2,010
Cambridgeshire 51.3 5,826 58.1 190 50.1 87 75.9 29 54.7 287 50.7 5,072
Camden 52.2 1,573 49.0 304 47.8 353 56.2 4 53.9 181 56.6 567
Central Bedfordshire 48.3 2,732 53.2 61 47.9 64 60.4 9 50.4 140 48.0 2,370
Cheshire East 51.5 3,803 56.0 68 43.2 16 62.7 14 51.5 105 51.4 3,541
Cheshire West and Chester 50.6 3,551 54.9 47 47.8 12 67.2 13 51.9 72 50.4 3,380
Cornwall 48.8 5,233 45.5 9 47.5 9 59.5 9 46.9 107 48.8 5,023
County Durham 48.8 5,017 58.0 31 52.5 12 76.6 10 54.5 67 49.5 4,758
Coventry 47.2 3,766 53.1 789 46.6 427 59.2 9 44.9 192 45.5 2,255
Croydon 48.9 3,755 55.2 488 45.4 1,173 69.3 17 49.0 638 49.6 1,269
Cumbria 50.0 5,109 56.2 32 46.4 11 63.2 13 51.6 78 50.2 4,771
Darlington 50.2 1,170 55.7 28 40.8 6 63.8 5 48.8 32 49.9 1,074
Derby 46.3 2,979 49.6 548 45.1 114 69.0 8 45.4 206 45.5 2,030
Derbyshire 49.9 7,282 52.4 86 55.7 36 67.3 17 50.5 177 49.8 6,919
Devon 50.2 6,895 61.6 35 52.9 17 59.8 15 53.0 138 50.2 6,446
Doncaster 46.8 3,055 51.6 89 47.4 46 45.5 6 45.5 91 46.7 2,773
Dorset 49.7 3,559 52.8 23 47.5 10 59.0 2 52.2 71 49.7 3,409
Dudley 47.2 3,309 47.4 317 44.0 106 62.0 4 47.2 203 47.4 2,586
Ealing 53.5 3,043 53.7 940 50.6 528 66.9 15 54.6 221 56.0 812
East Midlands 49.1 48,542 53.1 4,326 47.8 1,619 70.8 120 48.1 2,288 48.8 39,187
East Riding of Yorkshire 49.9 3,227 56.5 12 51.4 5 N/A* 0 51.8 76 49.9 3,086
East Sussex 48.5 4,815 55.3 78 38.1 34 59.0 7 49.7 232 48.5 4,376
East of England 50.3 63,682 55.8 4,309 51.5 2,354 69.9 235 51.5 3,334 49.8 51,830
Enfield 49.8 3,767 61.9 316 46.7 963 58.1 11 52.3 336 49.0 1,798
Essex 49.6 15,188 67.2 425 53.5 565 71.4 62 51.6 657 48.7 13,102
Gateshead 50.3 1,935 60.1 53 50.8 29 70.7 9 54.5 34 49.8 1,781
Gloucestershire 52.9 6,359 64.5 196 48.1 87 62.4 17 54.4 265 52.5 5,650
Greenwich 50.2 2,448 54.7 191 49.9 799 65.5 21 50.2 237 49.3 1,114
Hackney 53.2 2,286 55.9 283 48.1 869 65.1 16 56.9 206 56.7 743
Halton 47.6 1,448 64.3 5 54.3 2 withheld to protect confidentiality 1 55.8 32 47.2 1,373
Hammersmith and Fulham 56.1 1,458 58.4 128 50.1 315 63.4 9 55.1 183 60.1 612
Hampshire 50.8 12,987 55.1 322 50.7 122 70.3 35 52.8 427 50.6 11,875
Haringey 51.4 2,484 57.5 173 47.2 617 63.9 12 51.6 283 52.8 1,136
Harrow 53.4 2,334 57.9 1,068 47.6 296 62.1 12 52.8 181 50.0 627
Hartlepool 46.8 1,041 45.7 33 40.8 6 70.0 5 43.6 13 46.8 976
Havering 51.9 2,842 57.4 154 51.6 368 70.8 13 52.1 146 51.6 2,094
Herefordshire, County of 50.3 1,773 69.9 7 53.2 3 N/A* 0 57.3 35 50.0 1,709
Hertfordshire 54.2 13,200 60.9 1,107 50.8 611 71.1 62 55.0 899 53.5 10,277
Hillingdon 52.1 3,301 56.5 870 49.6 398 59.4 7 51.1 352 49.8 1,374
Hounslow 52.6 2,916 56.7 883 49.9 365 73.3 6 52.6 262 53.0 958
Inner London 52.3 28,132 55.6 5,998 48.7 8,158 65.2 173 53.0 2,927 53.9 7,912
Isle of Wight 46.6 1,187 55.6 6 30.0 2 withheld to protect confidentiality 1 48.3 39 46.5 1,126
Isles of Scilly withheld to protect confidentiality 18 N/A* 0 N/A* 0 N/A* 0 withheld to protect confidentiality 1 withheld to protect confidentiality 16
Islington 49.7 1,471 55.5 164 47.6 404 68.8 6 48.9 213 48.7 546
Kensington and Chelsea 58.0 899 58.9 41 52.1 161 80.0 4 56.5 141 60.7 359
Kent 51.0 16,378 63.5 714 58.1 549 72.3 63 55.4 825 50.0 13,827
Kingston upon Hull, City of 45.9 2,681 59.9 25 53.1 44 withheld to protect confidentiality 1 51.7 76 46.9 2,289
Kingston upon Thames 58.9 1,767 66.3 417 49.4 81 76.5 16 61.8 182 56.0 936
Kirklees 48.6 4,963 49.7 1,343 42.2 84 67.0 6 46.4 285 48.6 3,157
Knowsley 38.2 1,051 50.2 10 37.2 4 75.0 2 45.6 15 38.0 1,002
Lambeth 49.3 2,250 56.6 111 47.1 1,079 63.6 15 49.9 273 51.2 568
Lancashire 49.7 12,640 50.5 1,431 47.2 48 72.5 36 49.0 325 49.6 10,599
Leeds 47.6 8,219 48.8 1,002 46.9 607 64.2 31 46.8 453 48.6 5,717
Leicester 46.2 3,898 50.3 1,834 46.0 462 80.0 6 44.0 256 40.4 1,204
Leicestershire 50.1 7,413 58.6 609 50.3 84 68.3 15 50.3 317 49.2 6,294
Lewisham 48.4 2,305 50.9 130 45.8 998 63.6 27 51.0 313 50.2 674
Lincolnshire 50.3 7,710 69.6 143 59.8 30 70.0 27 55.4 208 49.8 7,090
Liverpool 48.0 4,848 59.2 160 46.8 177 65.3 48 48.8 277 47.5 3,953
London 53.2 83,129 58.0 17,721 49.4 17,847 69.1 518 53.0 8,088 52.9 31,819
Luton 46.7 2,754 49.2 1,274 47.0 311 80.8 4 44.3 207 43.5 879
Manchester 47.2 5,483 51.0 1,323 48.6 993 60.7 35 45.1 512 44.6 2,194
Medway 49.8 3,091 62.2 178 58.4 223 51.5 8 51.6 181 48.0 2,457
Merton 53.1 1,555 56.0 275 47.4 276 66.3 7 51.7 210 54.5 728
Middlesbrough 45.4 1,532 50.7 188 39.7 22 withheld to protect confidentiality 1 47.5 64 44.6 1,198
Milton Keynes 47.1 3,128 52.4 351 46.1 491 61.2 13 45.7 224 46.6 1,992
Newcastle upon Tyne 47.6 2,548 51.3 288 46.7 111 65.6 15 55.7 94 46.6 1,943
Newham 53.1 4,079 56.5 1,941 50.4 948 63.4 14 51.4 242 48.1 662
Norfolk 49.2 7,974 56.8 118 52.4 69 55.0 20 50.4 228 49.0 7,368
North East 48.4 26,395 52.3 989 48.2 252 68.9 71 52.7 563 48.4 23,956
North East Lincolnshire 43.2 1,742 49.3 13 46.3 6 withheld to protect confidentiality 1 43.5 29 48.5 1,357
North Lincolnshire 47.6 1,925 52.3 77 48.4 5 77.0 3 46.9 25 47.5 1,718
North Somerset 50.2 2,200 57.0 36 48.9 20 61.8 8 49.7 59 50.1 2,058
North Tyneside 49.2 1,945 49.1 41 51.3 15 66.1 11 50.8 53 49.1 1,792
North West 49.0 77,572 51.9 8,034 47.8 2,194 66.4 306 49.0 2,984 48.7 61,944
North Yorkshire 51.9 6,174 58.8 147 42.0 26 66.6 13 56.2 142 51.6 5,739
Northamptonshire 48.5 7,773 56.3 374 48.2 410 73.6 25 47.3 424 48.1 6,423
Northumberland 49.6 3,138 51.7 46 61.0 2 withheld to protect confidentiality 4 56.6 41 49.5 3,017
Nottingham 45.3 2,896 50.5 520 47.3 358 69.4 7 43.2 347 43.5 1,521
Nottinghamshire 50.5 8,094 60.2 211 50.3 119 72.2 14 51.0 340 50.3 7,236
Oldham 44.8 3,128 44.7 992 41.2 96 35.3 4 42.9 118 45.6 1,825
Outer London 53.6 54,997 59.2 11,723 50.0 9,689 71.0 345 53.1 5,161 52.5 23,907
Oxfordshire 50.2 6,316 50.7 340 46.7 157 60.8 16 48.3 382 50.7 5,212
Peterborough 46.3 2,549 47.5 443 46.7 83 69.6 9 45.1 153 46.1 1,801
Plymouth 48.5 2,623 61.8 24 43.1 23 56.2 11 50.6 72 48.4 2,425
Portsmouth 45.7 1,839 57.3 109 46.6 48 59.6 7 49.6 78 44.6 1,536
Reading 54.0 1,360 64.2 304 46.9 120 71.3 9 51.0 136 51.2 734
Redbridge 56.0 3,815 59.3 2,015 49.6 497 71.5 21 53.9 306 52.4 889
Redcar and Cleveland 48.0 1,600 57.2 23 withheld to protect confidentiality 1 79.8 2 52.2 23 47.9 1,529
Richmond upon Thames 57.5 1,667 58.7 125 49.3 79 73.2 14 54.8 161 58.2 1,220
Rochdale 46.2 2,519 48.8 624 49.9 110 N/A* 0 45.9 136 45.1 1,598
Rotherham 48.1 3,193 50.6 252 47.5 55 73.1 5 47.3 80 47.9 2,776
Rutland 55.3 497 withheld to protect confidentiality 1 60.8 6 withheld to protect confidentiality 1 60.6 13 55.2 470
Salford 43.0 2,292 53.5 50 47.0 132 52.5 4 45.4 138 42.2 1,880
Sandwell 46.1 3,773 48.8 1,044 43.0 371 64.2 7 45.7 290 45.3 1,880
Sefton 47.6 2,945 62.6 31 47.7 14 67.2 6 50.2 71 48.7 2,682
Sheffield 47.7 5,567 48.5 645 45.3 283 57.1 25 44.7 357 48.1 3,987
Shropshire 49.5 2,910 52.2 16 44.2 10 61.5 6 46.9 64 49.6 2,774
Slough 55.9 1,958 60.2 989 50.7 159 74.3 6 55.2 172 49.2 522
Solihull 50.4 3,029 53.4 361 44.5 104 49.9 8 47.4 223 50.4 2,265
Somerset 48.4 4,950 54.9 70 50.4 21 58.8 7 50.7 118 48.3 4,680
South East 51.4 88,737 58.4 6,440 51.0 2,703 68.3 285 52.6 4,742 50.7 72,525
South Gloucestershire 49.6 2,553 52.6 74 47.9 52 64.0 7 47.4 117 49.7 2,248
South Tyneside 45.9 1,639 53.1 61 38.8 6 withheld to protect confidentiality 1 53.0 25 47.7 1,455
South West 50.4 52,331 55.8 1,237 45.7 819 61.9 132 51.2 1,811 50.4 46,820
Southampton 46.4 2,154 51.8 229 47.3 77 70.5 8 45.7 124 45.4 1,671
Southend-on-Sea 54.5 2,239 68.1 218 64.4 175 73.1 21 57.2 127 53.7 1,576
Southwark 53.7 2,659 57.8 128 51.2 1,197 67.9 29 55.3 322 55.7 704
St. Helens 47.0 1,889 58.3 12 45.8 11 61.8 4 46.7 34 47.9 1,750
Staffordshire 48.8 8,864 48.6 345 47.2 57 60.6 25 48.4 253 48.8 8,076
Stockport 51.3 2,808 53.9 184 49.5 37 58.8 13 51.3 132 51.1 2,387
Stockton-on-Tees 48.6 2,032 52.9 90 60.3 24 61.1 4 52.2 71 48.1 1,823
Stoke-on-Trent 46.3 2,578 48.0 373 44.0 89 59.3 7 43.3 110 46.2 1,948
Suffolk 48.4 7,413 56.1 114 45.8 71 62.6 6 48.6 339 48.4 6,674
Sunderland 48.1 2,798 53.3 107 49.6 18 73.8 4 55.1 46 47.7 2,610
Surrey 53.6 10,734 57.3 706 52.1 210 68.6 33 55.1 598 53.2 8,905
Sutton 61.3 2,920 72.3 697 59.0 271 77.6 45 60.6 277 56.2 1,531
Swindon 48.7 2,184 48.5 233 49.8 65 65.8 4 51.3 109 48.5 1,709
Tameside 48.0 2,668 51.0 313 45.5 60 59.0 2 47.0 113 47.6 2,137
Telford and Wrekin 49.9 2,051 55.0 145 50.2 67 70.1 12 51.8 95 49.3 1,719
Thurrock 48.6 1,864 61.0 73 52.2 182 71.5 9 52.8 137 46.9 1,403
Torbay 51.0 1,617 65.1 15 31.3 3 66.8 6 54.0 46 53.4 1,389
Tower Hamlets 50.1 3,082 54.8 2,025 49.3 325 62.3 9 50.3 140 43.1 307
Trafford 59.2 3,029 65.9 432 59.8 121 77.9 55 60.2 222 57.3 2,116
Wakefield 48.8 3,715 48.8 153 46.5 51 66.0 13 51.8 108 48.7 3,363
Walsall 47.4 3,382 53.2 721 48.2 188 64.2 12 44.8 185 45.7 2,184
Waltham Forest 50.0 2,693 53.4 722 47.9 638 58.8 13 47.2 267 50.0 921
Wandsworth 52.7 1,865 57.0 353 46.8 500 66.0 9 51.9 230 55.7 630
Warrington 51.7 2,418 57.5 49 47.5 12 71.1 10 53.3 71 51.5 2,218
Warwickshire 52.6 5,990 63.6 318 51.1 76 69.3 15 52.2 247 52.0 5,238
West Berkshire 51.9 1,856 54.2 44 38.3 30 64.1 9 50.1 89 52.6 1,638
West Midlands 49.0 64,062 51.8 10,857 46.1 3,750 65.2 170 47.4 3,461 48.7 43,800
West Sussex 50.3 8,199 55.6 357 42.7 127 69.6 19 51.8 352 50.0 7,194
Westminster 57.1 1,721 58.6 217 54.2 392 66.6 19 59.2 200 61.0 404
Wigan 49.3 3,482 53.5 39 49.6 33 56.7 5 50.5 69 49.2 3,296
Wiltshire 51.2 4,921 60.9 81 45.2 60 61.0 12 51.6 170 51.2 4,437
Windsor and Maidenhead 52.8 1,585 54.1 184 50.3 26 withheld to protect confidentiality 1 51.3 137 53.2 1,202
Wirral 51.5 3,499 64.5 101 60.0 12 64.2 20 55.2 110 50.8 3,227
Wokingham 55.9 1,675 62.1 162 50.8 62 72.1 4 58.1 115 55.0 1,286
Wolverhampton 49.2 3,023 54.2 775 46.7 332 68.4 6 44.4 297 48.3 1,543
Worcestershire 49.5 5,641 51.6 206 47.0 32 64.9 6 50.8 188 49.3 5,159
York 54.0 1,755 59.0 35 46.4 11 66.9 7 64.9 42 53.6 1,641
Yorkshire and The Humber 48.3 57,544 49.1 7,110 46.1 1,397 64.0 122 47.8 2,210 48.8 44,623

Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and local authority’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and local authority’ (CSV)

Summary of GCSE results (Attainment 8) By ethnicity and local authority Summary

The summary only includes figures based on high enough pupil numbers to make reliable generalisations.

The data shows that:

  • pupils in Sutton had the highest average Attainment 8 score (61.3)
  • pupils in Knowsley had the lowest average score (38.2)
  • out of all local authorities, the highest average score for White pupils was in Westminster (61.0) – the lowest score was in Knowsley (38.0)

8. Data sources

Source

Type of data

Administrative data

Type of statistic

National Statistics

Publisher

Department for Education

Publication frequency

Yearly

Purpose of data source

The data is collected to help measure schools’ and pupils’ performance at GCSE level (key stage 4).

9. Download the data

GCSE Attainment 8 - National data - 2019/20 - Spreadsheet (csv) 229 KB

This file contains the following: measure, ethnicity, ethnicity_type, time, time_type, geography, geography_type, geography_code, gender, age, FSM, SEN_type, SEN_grouping, admission_type, school_characteristic, religious_denomination, value, denominator and numerator

GCSE Attainment 8 - Local authority data - 2019/20 - Spreadsheet (csv) 380 KB

This file contains the following: measure, ethnicity, ethnicity_type, time, time_type, geography, geography_type, geography_code, gender, age, value, denominator and numerator