A* to C in English and Maths GCSE attainment for children aged 14 to 16 (key stage 4)

Published 10 October 2017

Last updated 8 March 2018 - see all updates

There is a new version of this page. View the latest version.

Contents

1. Main facts and figures

• in 2015/16, there were 540,689 pupils in key stage 4, and ethnicity was known for 534,918 pupils (99%) of them

• 78.2% were White, 9.5% were Asian, 5.2% were Black, 4.2% were Mixed, 1.5% came from the Other ethnic group and 0.4% were Chinese

• Chinese pupils were the most likely achieve A* to C in English and Maths GCSE, whereas Gypsy/Roma pupils were the least likely

• across all ethnic groups, girls were more likely to achieve A* to C in English and Maths GCSE than boys – 67% of girls did so, compared with 59% of boys

• the pupils least likely to achieve were Gypsy/Roma boys – 9% of this group attained A* to C in English and Maths GCSE

• across all ethnic groups, pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM) were less likely to achieve A* to C in English and Maths GCSE than those not eligible: 39% of FSM-eligible pupils did so, compared with 67% of those not eligible

• Gypsy/Roma boys eligible for FSM were the least likely to achieve – 7% of this group attained A* to C in English and Maths GCSE

Things you need to know

Please be aware that some of the statistics quoted here for some ethnic groups are based on very small numbers of pupils (for example, only 130 Chinese children were eligible for free school meals in 2015/16) and are highly variable over time.

Attainment is lower for children from a Traveller of Irish heritage background – however, there were only 122 pupils from this background in key stage 4 in 2015/16. This was a much smaller number than for other ethnic groups (for example, there were 20,434 Pakistani pupils in key stage 4). Therefore, data comparisons between Traveller of Irish Heritage pupils and other ethnic groups may be unreliable.

The ethnicity of 1.1% of pupils (5,771) is not known. This includes pupils whose ethnicity was not surveyed, pupils who refused to be surveyed, and pupils whose ethnicity could not be determined.

The Department of Education (DfE) has excluded, or ‘suppressed’, very small numbers (for example, values of 1 or 2, a percentage based on 1 or 2 pupils who achieved, or 0, 1 or 2 pupils who did not achieve a particular level).

This is because, where the size of the ethnic group population is small enough that an individual’s identity could be revealed, information is suppressed to preserve confidentiality. This is consistent with DfE’s statistical policy statement on confidentiality (PDF opens in a new window or tab) (PDF).

Data for some Muslim and Sikh schools was not included in the statistics for faith schools, because the small numbers of pupils make it impossible to draw meaningful conclusions about their attainment. Data for faith schools is also only provided for pupils in state-funded mainstream schools.

Schools can ask for a pupil to be removed from their performance results if the pupil:

• arrived recently from overseas their first language isn’t English
• was admitted following a permanent exclusion from another school
• is not at the end of key stage 4
• has left England to live abroad
• has died

Pupils removed from a school’s performance results may still be included in the national figures.

What the data measures

This data measures the percentage of pupils within each ethnic group achieving A* to C in English and Maths GCSE.

It also looks at the total number of children achieving A* to C, and analyses each ethnic group’s percentage share of that total.

The data covers the academic year 2015/16 (September 2015 to July 2016).

Key stage 4 covers school years 10 and 11, when children are aged 14 to 16.

The ethnic categories used in this data

This data uses categories from the Department for Education’s school census, which is broadly based on the 2001 national Census, with 3 exceptions:

• Traveller of Irish Heritage and Gypsy/Roma children have been separated into 2 categories
• Sri Lankan has been added to the Asian/Asian British group but is not reported separately
• Chinese pupils have been assigned a separate category

These changes were made after consultations with local authorities and lobby groups.

The categories in the school census are as follows:

White:

• White British
• White Irish
• Traveller of Irish Heritage
• Gypsy/Roma
• Other White

Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups:

• White and Black Caribbean
• White and Black African
• White and Asian
• Other Mixed background

Asian/Asian British:

• Indian
• Pakistani
• Bangladeshi
• Sri Lankan
• Other Asian background

Black/African/Caribbean/Black British:

• Black African
• Black Caribbean
• Other Black background
• Chinese
• Other ethnic group

Information is provided for both detailed and broad ethnic groups where possible and when the data is available.

The 6 broad categories used are as follows:

• Asian/Asian British
• Black/African/Caribbean/Black British
• Chinese
• Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups
• White
• Other ethnic group

However, local authority data is only provided for 5 broad ethnic groups. Information about the specific ethnic categories is excluded to preserve confidentiality and ensure individuals cannot be identified. Information about the Other ethnic group is not given because DfE does not publish data for this group at the local authority level.

The 5 broad categories are as follows:

• Asian/Asian British
• Black/African/Caribbean/Black British
• Chinese
• Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups
• White

2. A* to C in English and Maths GCSE by ethnicity

• Location: England
• Time period: 2015/16
• Source: Key stage 4 and multi-academy trust performance 2018

Percentage of pupils attaining A* to C in English and Maths GCSE by ethnicity

Ethnicity	%	Pupils
All	63	540,689
Asian	67	51,218
Bangladeshi	67	8,319
Indian	77	14,046
Pakistani	58	20,434
Asian other	73	8,419
Black	59	27,924
Black African	63	17,349
Black Caribbean	51	7,216
Black other	55	3,359
Chinese	83	2,026
Mixed	63	22,868
Mixed White/Asian	72	5,089
Mixed White/Black African	62	2,687
Mixed White/Black Caribbean	54	7,160
Mixed other	65	7,932
White	63	422,763
White British	63	395,316
White Irish	72	1,774
White Irish Traveller	21	122
White Gypsy/Roma	10	1,107
White other	59	24,444
Other	62	8,119
Unknown	53	5,771

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of A* to C in English and Maths GCSE attainment for children aged 14 to 16 (key stage 4) A* to C in English and Maths GCSE by ethnicity Summary

The data shows that:

• in 2015/16, 63% of all pupils achieved grades A* to C in English and Maths GCSE, making this the national average

• Chinese pupils were the most likely to achieve A* to C in English and Maths GCSE, with 83% doing so

• pupils from the Chinese, Indian, Other Asian, White Irish, Mixed White and Asian, Bangladeshi and Other Mixed ethnic groups achieved above the national average

• the Gypsy/Roma ethnic group had the lowest percentage of pupils achieving A* to C in English and Maths GCSE (10% did so), followed by children from a Traveller of Irish Heritage background (21% did so)

3. A* to C in English and Maths GCSE by ethnicity and eligibility for free school meals (FSM)

• Location: England
• Time period: 2015/16
• Source: Key stage 4 and multi-academy trust performance 2018

Percentage of pupils attaining A* to C in English and Maths GCSE by ethnicity and eligibility for free school meals (FSM)

	FSM		Non-FSM
Ethnicity	FSM %	FSM Pupils	Non-FSM %	Non-FSM Pupils
All	39	72,528	67	468,161
Asian	54	9,018	70	42,200
Bangladeshi	61	2,461	70	5,858
Indian	62	1,042	79	13,004
Pakistani	47	4,536	61	15,898
Asian other	58	979	75	7,440
Black	49	6,544	62	21,380
Black African	53	4,086	66	13,263
Black Caribbean	39	1,689	54	5,527
Black other	47	769	58	2,590
Chinese	79	130	83	1,896
Mixed	43	4,240	67	18,628
Mixed White/Asian	48	732	76	4,357
Mixed White/Black African	48	529	65	2,158
Mixed White/Black Caribbean	37	1,620	58	5,540
Mixed other	45	1,359	69	6,573
White	34	49,595	67	373,168
White British	34	46,438	67	348,878
White Irish	40	213	77	1,561
White Irish Traveller	16	73	29	49
White Gypsy/Roma	9	330	11	777
White other	46	2,541	60	21,903
Other	52	2,024	65	6,095
Unknown	35	977	56	4,794

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of A* to C in English and Maths GCSE attainment for children aged 14 to 16 (key stage 4) A* to C in English and Maths GCSE by ethnicity and eligibility for free school meals (FSM) Summary

Eligibility for free school meals (FSM) is used as an indicator of deprivation by the Department for Education. For more about who qualifies for FSM, see the Methodology section.

The data shows that:

• 13% of pupils (72,528 children) in key stage 4 were eligible for free school meals (FSM) in 2015/16

• 25% of pupils from the Any Other ethnic background were eligible for FSM, followed by 23% of Black pupils, 19% of pupils of Mixed ethnicity, 18% of Asian pupils, 12% of White pupils and 6% of Chinese pupils

• across all ethnic groups, FSM-eligible pupils were less likely to achieve A* to C in English and Maths GCSE than those not eligible: 39% of pupils eligible for FSM achieved A* to C in English and Maths GCSE, which is below the national average of 63%

• of the broad ethnic groups, Chinese pupils had the highest percentage of FSM-eligible pupils achieving A* to C in English and Maths GCSE (79% did so)

• White FSM-eligible pupils were least likely to achieve A* to C in English and Maths GCSE (34% did so)

• looking at the specific ethnic groups, Gypsy/Roma FSM-eligible children were least likely to achieve A* to C in English and Maths GCSE (9% did so)

• Irish children had the largest gap in attainment between FSM eligible and those not eligible with 40% of FSM-eligible pupils achieving A* to C in English and Maths GCSE compared with 77% of those not eligible (a 37 percentage point gap)

4. A* to C in English and Maths GCSE by ethnicity and area

• Location: England
• Time period: 2015/16
• Source: Key stage 4 and multi-academy trust performance 2018

Percentage of pupils attaining A* to C in English and Maths GCSE by ethnicity and area

	All		Asian		Black		Chinese		Mixed		White
Local authority	All %	All Pupils	Asian %	Asian Pupils	Black %	Black Pupils	Chinese %	Chinese Pupils	Mixed %	Mixed Pupils	White %	White Pupils
All - England	63	537,808	68	50,541	60	27,589	84	1,987	63	22,753	63	421,440
County Durham	62	4,979	70	33	50	6		6	67	42	63	4,846
Darlington	62	1,139	52	21				3	73	15	62	1,086
Gateshead	65	1,913	86	35	57	14			80	20	64	1,810
Hartlepool	55	1,068	71	14		5			63	8	55	1,036
Middlesbrough	55	1,464	72	172	67	15	N/A*	0	66	53	53	1,164
Newcastle upon Tyne	62	2,393	67	249	50	80	46	13	71	65	62	1,913
North Tyneside	68	1,945	58	38	73	11	100	9	86	35	68	1,833
Northumberland	61	3,198	79	42			100	6	69	36	61	3,100
Redcar and Cleveland	61	1,620	57	21	100	3			65	20	61	1,567
South Tyneside	62	1,535	67	57		8	N/A*	0	53	17	63	1,421
Stockton-on-Tees	64	1,994	63	106					64	25	64	1,842
Sunderland	59	2,828	72	90	50	16	100	3	56	27	59	2,677
Blackburn with Darwen	65	1,754	71	735	53	15			74	61	61	922
Blackpool	48	1,331	63	19	44	9	100	5	42	24	48	1,270
Bolton	59	3,240	69	611	46	124		7	50	88	58	2,354
Bury	62	2,060	63	244	47	36		4	61	101	63	1,636
Cheshire East	68	3,740	66	62	62	13	73	15	66	93	68	3,509
Cheshire West and Chester	66	3,443	76	37	50	12		8	71	72	65	3,283
Cumbria	63	5,134	65	31	46	13		9	83	53	63	4,987
Halton	60	1,373					N/A*	0	76	25	60	1,335
Knowsley	40	1,147							57	21	39	1,103
Lancashire	64	12,106	59	1,147	71	38	88	32	66	277	64	10,512
Liverpool	57	4,611	70	132	54	137	82	45	52	203	57	3,919
Manchester	55	4,715	64	974	57	741	81	43	50	344	51	2,312
Oldham	57	2,920	56	822	53	47		7	48	90	58	1,901
Rochdale	59	2,315	61	551	68	63			61	83	58	1,601
Salford	53	2,084	68	38	63	78		6	60	80	52	1,832
Sefton	60	3,076	70	23	40	15	100	8	63	60	61	2,896
St. Helens	60	1,767		14	63	8	100	4	80	15	61	1,675
Stockport	66	2,816	68	168	67	21	56	16	73	105	66	2,463
Tameside	64	2,493	67	253	66	35	67	12	68	74	63	2,078
Trafford	75	2,758	81	327	69	75	90	49	73	132	75	2,118
Warrington	64	2,365	80	49	36	14		6	51	35	64	2,216
Wigan	63	3,407	63	30	69	16	100	3	55	66	63	3,271
Wirral	66	3,402	78	64		8	100	14	70	69	66	3,222
Barnsley	59	2,088		6	33	15	N/A*	0	71	35	59	2,018
Bradford	52	5,859	51	2,482	56	81			46	218	54	2,979
Calderdale	65	2,524	59	375	60	20	100	4	59	93	67	2,021
Doncaster	60	3,026	61	77	46	35		10	57	61	59	2,808
East Riding of Yorkshire	67	3,346	67	12				3	67	46	67	3,222
Kingston upon Hull, City of	51	2,255	71	17	48	23			57	44	53	2,028
Kirklees	61	4,534	60	1,139	51	85	100	10	47	225	63	3,029
Leeds	60	7,483	60	849	52	440	75	28	58	335	61	5,700
North East Lincolnshire	56	1,596		10					55	38	56	1,486
North Lincolnshire	64	1,856	79	62	73	11	100	4	58	19	64	1,751
North Yorkshire	68	6,188	76	93	67	18	100	13	66	124	67	5,886
Rotherham	62	3,335	58	231	61	38		8	67	58	62	2,980
Sheffield	59	5,242	57	501	56	260	83	18	53	265	61	4,001
Wakefield	64	3,645	65	116	63	38		6	64	64	64	3,407
York	69	1,585	100	11	56	9		9	82	33	68	1,511
Derby	54	2,787	53	482	45	85		8	51	166	55	2,015
Derbyshire	62	7,628		75		19	71	14	59	161	62	7,297
Leicester	57	3,409	68	1,631	53	345		3	51	210	44	1,149
Leicestershire	65	7,017	79	505	70	43	73	22	68	246	64	6,108
Lincolnshire	62	7,807	87	76	62	34	82	33	69	134	62	7,464
Northamptonshire	60	7,650	70	326	60	282		20	54	327	59	6,612
Nottingham	50	2,534	62	438	51	248	100	8	53	231	46	1,528
Nottinghamshire	66	7,883	73	180	76	78	88	25	69	255	66	7,243
Rutland	76	489		4		3	N/A*	0	67	9	77	472
Birmingham	60	12,035	61	4,580	55	1,489	82	45	58	834	61	4,492
Coventry	61	3,463	74	660	59	276		9	53	181	58	2,275
Dudley	56	3,591	56	298	46	70		4	53	183	56	2,974
Herefordshire, County of	62	1,732		5		5	100	4	80	25	62	1,681
Sandwell	50	3,499	59	934	47	257		5	48	223	46	1,986
Shropshire	63	2,986		19		7		8	66	53	63	2,857
Solihull	65	2,987	72	278	54	72		10	57	181	66	2,375
Staffordshire	60	8,758	60	254	60	37	80	20	57	189	60	8,176
Stoke-on-Trent	56	2,269	60	301	44	48		9	48	69	55	1,801
Telford and Wrekin	59	2,014	53	117	53	36		9	56	70	59	1,769
Walsall	57	3,261	67	628	55	139	100	3	54	155	55	2,306
Warwickshire	67	5,585	77	263	52	50	69	16	72	187	67	5,003
Wolverhampton	59	2,470	74	530	53	221		3	48	223	56	1,457
Worcestershire	65	5,565	63	142	30	20		8	65	169	65	5,183
Bedford	59	1,862	63	273	53	109	100	3	53	143	59	1,308
Cambridgeshire	68	5,707	80	190	57	56	87	30	72	194	67	5,139
Central Bedfordshire	64	2,596	59	46	52	44		10	58	103	65	2,376
Essex	64	14,607	83	337	71	333	80	51	66	541	64	13,142
Hertfordshire	70	12,613	77	849	71	447	84	63	65	702	69	10,336
Luton	56	2,442	62	967	54	294		4	47	192	52	937
Norfolk	61	8,014	85	88	66	68	84	25	57	178	61	7,551
Peterborough	55	2,292	54	367	62	73		8	63	105	54	1,698
Southend-on-Sea	69	2,047	84	135	78	125		22	66	91	67	1,649
Suffolk	60	7,158	67	102	47	53		4	56	305	60	6,440
Thurrock	62	1,721	69	65	75	164	67	9	77	61	59	1,385
Camden	63	1,422	64	272	59	345		10	56	142	65	549
City of London	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*
Hackney	70	2,038	75	272	65	719		12	69	193	73	687
Hammersmith and Fulham	70	1,350	78	116	59	333		6	69	133	75	624
Haringey	64	2,231	72	127	57	639	67	12	68	253	65	1,005
Islington	64	1,397	78	170	63	423			64	158	60	506
Kensington and Chelsea	76	740	81	26	72	148			74	113	76	297
Lambeth	62	1,887	81	79	58	945		15	59	228	69	491
Lewisham	56	2,334	67	129	52	1,041	76	37	64	286	54	698
Newham	63	3,489	70	1,601	60	917	73	11	51	199	54	582
Southwark	69	2,386	77	124	71	1,094	91	34	66	255	66	685
Tower Hamlets	63	2,570	68	1,685	61	307	100	10	55	129	52	316
Wandsworth	70	1,660	77	333	61	458	100	14	72	188	71	571
Westminster	72	1,566	72	199	65	333		18	75	130	78	483
Barking and Dagenham	60	2,201	72	398	63	551		6	55	141	55	1,051
Barnet	73	3,647	86	512	64	489	87	46	73	363	72	1,835
Bexley	67	3,192	84	207	77	532	85	40	63	161	62	2,183
Brent	64	3,035	70	900	54	767		9	55	158	59	579
Bromley	72	3,305	89	167	68	272	89	36	74	229	74	2,419
Croydon	61	3,844	74	453	59	1,124		21	59	424	63	1,534
Ealing	65	2,781	69	747	55	574		5	72	195	66	826
Enfield	63	3,579	81	313	59	879	85	20	65	324	61	1,754
Greenwich	61	2,204	75	207	67	604	83	24	62	208	55	1,071
Harrow	68	2,127	76	900	60	344	73	11	64	163	62	610
Havering	64	2,917	72	117	66	362		11	61	127	64	2,237
Hillingdon	65	3,136	74	751	59	327		12	68	299	61	1,479
Hounslow	66	2,667	77	696	60	344		5	74	224	66	951
Kingston upon Thames	78	1,515	86	343	66	73		23	83	115	75	871
Merton	70	1,440	71	222	63	299	100	6	74	155	70	734
Redbridge	72	3,363	78	1,623	62	494		20	61	230	69	903
Richmond upon Thames	71	1,367	70	96	50	48		12	70	135	73	1,025
Sutton	77	2,667	93	524	74	212	100	41	76	201	71	1,623
Waltham Forest	64	2,539	71	635	57	598	55	22	62	227	63	969
Bracknell Forest	61	1,076	78	41	69	26	100	4	69	49	60	946
Brighton and Hove	65	2,139	63	82	51	41	100	3	69	181	65	1,802
Buckinghamshire	74	5,622	69	855	61	132		18	68	312	75	4,220
East Sussex	63	4,930	75	60	61	31	100	9	63	166	63	4,532
Hampshire	67	13,101	75	333	53	115	89	35	66	350	67	12,110
Isle of Wight	52	1,305	50	12	N/A*	0		3	56	27	52	1,249
Kent	64	15,727	86	526	78	303	92	64	73	536	62	14,022
Medway	65	2,967	82	157	64	116		11	62	125	64	2,508
Milton Keynes	60	2,800	72	204	55	338	67	15	59	187	59	1,994
Oxfordshire	66	5,975	60	317	58	126	81	26	59	288	67	5,136
Portsmouth	58	1,729	74	95	70	33		7	63	54	57	1,515
Reading	64	1,169	75	221	51	90	100	21	56	98	62	711
Slough	72	1,632	79	798	63	148	100	5	74	112	63	497
Southampton	57	1,952	78	176	59	56		9	56	95	54	1,593
Surrey	70	10,399	74	602	63	180	86	44	74	473	70	8,958
West Berkshire	65	1,906	76	50	60	25		12	63	75	66	1,704
West Sussex	65	8,118	71	330	39	120	58	12	61	258	65	7,316
Windsor and Maidenhead	72	1,470	68	191	66	29	100	8	79	99	73	1,119
Wokingham	73	1,601	70	166	64	75	100	10	64	89	75	1,231
Bath and North East Somerset	70	2,022		24	50	24			65	74	70	1,863
Bournemouth	67	1,617	85	40	59	17		7	71	73	66	1,429
Bristol, City of	60	3,138	67	253	48	282	73	15	64	209	60	2,316
Cornwall	64	5,432	67	21	44	9			71	99	64	5,232
Devon	65	6,971	77	26	71	14		13	63	95	65	6,726
Dorset	65	4,153	65	46		9		11	68	80	65	3,933
Gloucestershire	66	6,385	86	146	51	63	83	23	62	195	66	5,882
Isles of Scilly	70	23	N/A*	0	N/A*	0	N/A*	0	N/A*	0	67	21
North Somerset	63	2,176	81	32	33	15		6	68	66	63	2,043
Plymouth	58	2,640	88	25	17	18	69	13	70	43	57	2,489
Poole	68	1,438	87	31		4		5	79	47	68	1,338
Somerset	63	5,137	76	50	50	14	73	11	67	100	63	4,933
South Gloucestershire	60	2,770	72	67	51	43	100	6	54	109	60	2,530
Swindon	61	2,109	67	195	62	42		10	67	60	60	1,756
Torbay	63	1,511		12	57	7	100	8	75	40	65	1,335
Wiltshire	66	4,899	73	70	55	38	100	6	73	115	66	4,582

^* Not applicable Data withheld to protect confidentiality

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of A* to C in English and Maths GCSE attainment for children aged 14 to 16 (key stage 4) A* to C in English and Maths GCSE by ethnicity and area Summary

The data shows that:

• Kingston upon Thames in London had the highest percentage of pupils achieving A* to C in English and Maths GCSE (78%)

• Knowsley in the North West had the lowest percentage of pupils achieving A* to C in English and Maths GCSE (40%)

• the local authority where Asian pupils were most likely to achieve A* to C in English and Maths GCSE was York in Yorkshire and the Humber, where 100% did so; the local authority where they were least likely to was the Isle of Wight, where 50% did so

• the local authority where Black pupils were most likely to achieve A* to C in English and Maths GCSE was Redcar and Cleveland in the North East, where 100% did so; the local authority where they were least likely to was Plymouth in the South West, where 17% did so

• in 30 local authorities, 100% Chinese pupils achieved A* to C in English and Maths GCSE; the local authority were they were least likely to achieve A* to C was Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the North East, where 46% did so

• the local authority where Mixed pupils were most likely to achieve A* to C in English and Maths GCSE was North Tyneside in the North East, where 86% did so; the local authority where they were least likely to was Blackpool in the North West, where 42% did so

• the local authority where White pupils were most likely to achieve A* to C in English and Maths GCSE was Westminster in London, were 78% did so; the local authority where they were least likely to was Knowsley in the North West, where 39% did so

5. A* to C in English and Maths GCSE by ethnicity and gender

• Location: England
• Time period: 2015/16
• Source: Key stage 4 and multi-academy trust performance 2018

Percentage of pupils attaining A* to C in English and Maths GCSE by ethnicity and gender

	All		Boys		Girls
Ethnicity	All %	All Pupils	Boys %	Boys Pupils	Girls %	Girls Pupils
All	63	540,689	59	275,606	67	265,083
Asian	67	51,218	64	26,559	71	24,659
Bangladeshi	67	8,319	65	4,239	70	4,080
Indian	77	14,046	74	7,321	81	6,725
Pakistani	58	20,434	55	10,559	62	9,875
Asian other	73	8,419	68	4,440	78	3,979
Black	59	27,924	53	13,911	65	14,013
Black African	63	17,349	58	8,669	68	8,680
Black Caribbean	51	7,216	44	3,548	58	3,668
Black other	55	3,359	49	1,694	62	1,665
Chinese	83	2,026	78	1,033	88	993
Mixed	63	22,868	58	11,535	67	11,333
Mixed White/Asian	72	5,089	68	2,542	76	2,547
Mixed White/Black African	62	2,687	57	1,354	66	1,333
Mixed White/Black Caribbean	54	7,160	49	3,614	59	3,546
Mixed other	65	7,932	62	4,025	69	3,907
White	63	422,763	59	215,354	67	207,409
White British	63	395,316	59	201,407	67	193,909
White Irish	72	1,774	69	883	75	891
White Irish Traveller	21	122	18	67	26	55
White Gypsy/Roma	10	1,107	9	534	12	573
White other	59	24,444	55	12,463	63	11,981
Other	62	8,119	58	4,242	66	3,877
Unknown	53	5,771	48	2,972	58	2,799

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of A* to C in English and Maths GCSE attainment for children aged 14 to 16 (key stage 4) A* to C in English and Maths GCSE by ethnicity and gender Summary

The data shows that:

• across all ethnic groups, boys were less likely to achieve A* to C in English and Maths GCSE compared with girls: overall, 67% of girls achieved A* to C compared with 59% of boys

• of the broad ethnic groups, Chinese girls had the highest percentage achieving A* to C in English and Maths GCSE (88%), while Black boys had the lowest (53%)

• of the specific ethnic groups, White Gypsy/Roma boys were least likely to achieve A* to C in English and Maths GCSE (9%)

• the smallest gap between boys and girls, at 3 percentage points, was found in the Gypsy/Roma ethnic group, where 12% of girls achieved A* to C in English and Maths GCSE compared with 9% of boys

• the largest gap between boys and girls was in the Black Caribbean ethnic group, where 58% of girls achieved A* to C in English and Maths GCSE compared with 44% of boys

6. A* to C in English and Maths GCSE by ethnicity, gender and eligibility for free school meals (FSM)

• Location: England
• Time period: 2015/16
• Source: Key stage 4 and multi-academy trust performance 2018

Percentage of pupils attaining A* to C in English and Maths GCSE by ethnicity, gender and eligibility for free school meals (FSM)

	FSM Boys		FSM Girls		Non-FSM Boys		Non-FSM Girls
Ethnicity	FSM Boys %	FSM Boys Pupils	FSM Girls %	FSM Girls Pupils	Non-FSM Boys %	Non-FSM Boys Pupils	Non-FSM Girls %	Non-FSM Girls Pupils
All	35	37,080	43	35,448	63	238,526	71	229,635
Asian	51	4,724	57	4,294	67	21,835	74	20,365
Bangladeshi	62	1,267	60	1,194	67	2,972	73	2,886
Indian	58	539	67	503	76	6,782	82	6,222
Pakistani	44	2,396	51	2,140	58	8,163	65	7,735
Asian other	53	522	63	457	70	3,918	80	3,522
Black	44	3,317	55	3,227	56	10,594	68	10,786
Black African	49	2,075	58	2,011	61	6,594	71	6,669
Black Caribbean	33	838	46	851	47	2,710	62	2,817
Black other	42	404	53	365	51	1,290	65	1,300
Chinese	76	67	83	63	78	966	88	930
Mixed	38	2,121	47	2,119	63	9,414	71	9,214
Mixed White/Asian	41	362	54	370	73	2,180	79	2,177
Mixed White/Black African	43	275	55	254	61	1,079	69	1,079
Mixed White/Black Caribbean	33	816	42	804	53	2,798	64	2,742
Mixed other	42	668	47	691	65	3,357	73	3,216
White	31	25,284	38	24,311	63	190,070	71	183,098
White British	30	23,654	38	22,784	63	177,753	71	171,125
White Irish	38	115	42	98	74	768	79	793
White Irish Traveller	17	41	16	32	19	26	39	23
White Gypsy/Roma	7	157	12	173	10	377	12	400
White other	44	1,317	49	1,224	56	11,146	64	10,757
Other	49	1,060	55	964	61	3,182	69	2,913
Unknown	30	507	40	470	51	2,465	61	2,329

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of A* to C in English and Maths GCSE attainment for children aged 14 to 16 (key stage 4) A* to C in English and Maths GCSE by ethnicity, gender and eligibility for free school meals (FSM) Summary

Eligibility for free school meals (FSM) is used as an indicator of deprivation by the Department for Education. For more about who qualifies for FSM, see the Methodology section.

The data shows that:

• overall, in every ethnic group, boys and girls not eligible for FSM did better than those who were eligible

• across all ethnic groups, FSM-eligible girls were more likely to achieve A* to C in English and Maths GCSE than FSM-eligible boys, except for Bangladeshi and White Irish Traveller pupils

• Chinese boys and girls eligible for FSM had the highest percentage of pupils achieving A* to C in English and Maths GCSE, at 83% and 76% respectively

• Gypsy/Roma boys eligible for FSM had the lowest percentage of pupils achieving A* to C in English and Maths GCSE (7%)

• the largest gap between FSM-eligible girls and boys, at 13 percentage points, was found in the Black Caribbean and Mixed White and Asian pupils

7. A* to C in English and Maths GCSE by ethnicity, gender and area

• Location: England
• Time period: 2015/16
• Source: Key stage 4 and multi-academy trust performance 2018

Percentage of pupils attaining A* to C in English and Maths GCSE by ethnicity, gender and area

	All			White			Mixed			Asian			Black			Chinese
Local authority	All All	All Boys	All Girls	White All	White Boys	White Girls	Mixed All	Mixed Boys	Mixed Girls	Asian All	Asian Boys	Asian Girls	Black All	Black Boys	Black Girls	Chinese All	Chinese Boys	Chinese Girls
All - England	63	59	67	63	59	67	63	59	67	68	65	71	60	54	66	84	80	89
Barking and Dagenham	60	57	63	55	52	57	55	54	57	72	69	76	63	58	68
Barnet	73	71	75	72	69	75	73	74	73	86	88	84	64	59	70	87
Barnsley	59	54	64	59	54	64	71	77	67				33			N/A*	N/A*	N/A*
Bath and North East Somerset	70	67	72	70	68	73	65	61	69			67	50	57	40
Bedford	59	56	62	59	57	62	53	49	57	63	58	69	53	48	58	100
Bexley	67	63	70	62	60	65	63	64	61	84	76	92	77	70	84	85	86	83
Birmingham	60	56	64	61	56	66	58	57	59	61	58	63	55	46	64	82	76	88
Blackburn with Darwen	65	59	71	61	55	66	74			71	66	76	53	36	100			N/A*
Blackpool	48	45	51	48	45	50	42	33	50	63			44			100
Bolton	59	53	66	58	51	64	50	35	67	69	62	77	46	48	45
Bournemouth	67	64	70	66	63	70	71	63	82	85			59
Bracknell Forest	61	57	65	60	55	64	69	70	68	78	82	74	69			100
Bradford	52	48	56	54	50	57	46	41	50	51	47	55	56	41	69		N/A*
Brent	64	60	68	59	55	64	55	50	61	70	68	73	54	47	59
Brighton and Hove	65	62	69	65	63	68	69	60	79	63	59	71	51	55	47	100
Bristol, City of	60	56	63	60	56	63	64	59	69	67	64	71	48	42	52	73
Bromley	72	70	74	74	71	76	74	72	76	89	90	88	68	66	69	89
Buckinghamshire	74	71	77	75	73	78	68	69	68	69	64	75	61	53	68
Bury	62	57	67	63	59	67	61	47	76	63	58	69	47	30	69
Calderdale	65	63	68	67	63	71	59	55	63	59	64	54	60			100
Cambridgeshire	68	64	71	67	63	71	72	64	80	80	83	77	57	56	58	87
Camden	63	56	69	65	55	72	56	42	67	64	60	69	59	55	61		100
Central Bedfordshire	64	60	69	65	60	69	58	49	68	59	50	68	52	48	57			100
Cheshire East	68	62	73	68	62	73	66	56	76	66	73	61	62			73
Cheshire West and Chester	66	62	70	65	61	69	71	66	77	76	67	84	50					100
City of London	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*
Cornwall	64	61	67	64	61	68	71	76	67	67			44
County Durham	62	60	65	63	60	66	67	56	73	70			50
Coventry	61	58	64	58	55	61	53	46	61	74	70	79	59	58	60
Croydon	61	55	66	63	56	70	59	52	63	74	73	75	59	54	64
Cumbria	63	58	69	63	58	68	83	86	81	65	64	65	46				100
Darlington	62	59	64	62	60	64	73			52					N/A*		N/A*
Derby	54	49	60	55	49	62	51	44	56	53	50	56	45	29	55			100
Derbyshire	62	58	67	62	58	67	59	56	62		55					71
Devon	65	61	68	65	61	68	63	61	66	77			71
Doncaster	60	55	64	59	55	64	57	47	68	61	57	64	46	41	50		100
Dorset	65	62	67	65	62	67	68	68	67	65	58	73						100
Dudley	56	52	60	56	53	60	53	50	56	56	47	66	46	47	44
Ealing	65	61	69	66	65	68	72	68	75	69	65	74	55	48	62		N/A*
East Riding of Yorkshire	67	63	71	67	63	71	67	57	83	67	43	100
East Sussex	63	59	67	63	60	67	63	58	67	75	69	84	61	55	65	100
Enfield	63	59	67	61	60	63	65	59	74	81	78	83	59	52	66	85	67	100
Essex	64	61	68	64	60	67	66	63	70	83	79	86	71	69	72	80	80	81
Gateshead	65	62	67	64	62	67	80			86	75	100	57
Gloucestershire	66	63	70	66	63	70	62	57	67	86	82	91	51	47	56	83
Greenwich	61	59	63	55	52	57	62	58	65	75	78	73	67	65	68	83
Hackney	70	65	73	73	66	78	69	65	72	75	75	75	65	60	69			100
Halton	60	59	62	60	58	62	76					N/A*				N/A*	N/A*	N/A*
Hammersmith and Fulham	70	66	74	75	75	76	69	62	77	78	71	85	59	54	65
Hampshire	67	63	71	67	63	70	66	60	73	75	70	81	53	48	59	89
Haringey	64	60	68	65	61	70	68	62	74	72	75	71	57	52	61	67
Harrow	68	64	72	62	57	67	64	54	73	76	75	78	60	53	67	73
Hartlepool	55	49	61	55	49	61	63			71								N/A*
Havering	64	61	67	64	61	67	61	60	62	72	68	75	66	59	72		100
Herefordshire, County of	62	57	68	62	56	68	80									100
Hertfordshire	70	65	75	69	65	74	65	60	71	77	73	82	71	63	77	84	90	79
Hillingdon	65	62	69	61	59	63	68	62	73	74	70	78	59	54	65			100
Hounslow	66	63	69	66	66	67	74	73	74	77	74	79	60	56	65
Isle of Wight	52	48	56	52	47	57	56	50	67	50	50	50	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*
Isles of Scilly	70	67	73	67	64	70	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*
Islington	64	62	66	60	57	64	64	62	66	78	74	81	63	62	64
Kensington and Chelsea	76	74	77	76	75	79	74	74	75	81			72	67	78		N/A*
Kent	64	60	68	62	58	66	73	69	76	86	82	91	78	71	84	92
Kingston upon Hull, City of	51	52	51	53	54	52	57	50	69	71			48	50	46		N/A*
Kingston upon Thames	78	75	81	75	73	78	83	81	84	86	85	86	66	54	83		100
Kirklees	61	55	68	63	58	69	47	42	53	60	53	68	51	43	58	100	100	100
Knowsley	40	37	43	39	36	42	57	55	60								N/A*
Lambeth	62	58	67	69	68	69	59	59	60	81			58	50	66
Lancashire	64	59	68	64	60	69	66	60	71	59	53	64	71	67	77	88
Leeds	60	56	64	61	57	65	58	56	60	60	55	64	52	47	56	75
Leicester	57	53	62	44	42	48	51	49	53	68	64	73	53	47	60		N/A*
Leicestershire	65	61	69	64	60	68	68	65	73	79	77	81	70	73	65	73
Lewisham	56	49	64	54	51	58	64	58	71	67	62	72	52	43	63	76	71	78
Lincolnshire	62	58	66	62	58	66	69			87			62	61	63	82
Liverpool	57	52	61	57	53	61	52	42	62	70	69	71	54	43	65	82
Luton	56	53	58	52	48	57	47	42	51	62	63	60	54	49	59
Manchester	55	52	58	51	48	55	50	46	55	64	62	67	57	53	61	81
Medway	65	60	69	64	60	68	62	51	70	82	86	78	64	45	77
Merton	70	66	73	70	66	75	74	67	81	71	73	68	63	58	69	100
Middlesbrough	55	51	58	53	50	57	66	64	68	72	74	70	67			N/A*	N/A*	N/A*
Milton Keynes	60	57	63	59	55	64	59	60	59	72	70	75	55	54	56	67	55	100
Newcastle upon Tyne	62	59	65	62	59	65	71	68	74	67	63	72	50	49	51	46	43	50
Newham	63	60	67	54	49	59	51	48	55	70	68	72	60	56	65	73	50	100
Norfolk	61	58	64	61	58	64	57	58	55	85	77	92	66	55	85	84
North East Lincolnshire	56	52	60	56	51	60	55	52	62					100			N/A*
North Lincolnshire	64	62	67	64	62	66	58			79	70	86	73			100	100	N/A*
North Somerset	63	59	68	63	59	67	68	59	78	81	83	79	33
North Tyneside	68	65	71	68	65	71	86			58	42	65	73	57	100	100	100	100
North Yorkshire	68	63	72	67	63	72	66	65	67	76	72	82	67			100	100	100
Northamptonshire	60	55	64	59	55	64	54	52	57	70	66	74	60	51	68
Northumberland	61	59	64	61	58	64	69			79	80	77				100
Nottingham	50	45	56	46	42	51	53	51	55	62	57	67	51	39	64	100	100	100
Nottinghamshire	66	61	71	66	61	71	69	63	75	73	69	77	76	80	72	88	77	100
Oldham	57	52	61	58	52	64	48	47	48	56	54	58	53	68	32
Oxfordshire	66	61	70	67	62	71	59	56	61	60	54	66	58	51	68	81	64	100
Peterborough	55	51	59	54	50	59	63	55	72	54	53	55	62	48	79		100
Plymouth	58	52	65	57	51	64	70	67	72	88			17			69
Poole	68	63	74	68	62	73	79	79	78	87
Portsmouth	58	52	66	57	51	64	63	60	66	74	64	80	70	65	75			100
Reading	64	63	65	62	62	62	56	62	51	75	71	79	51	50	52	100	100	100
Redbridge	72	68	76	69	66	71	61	51	70	78	74	82	62	54	69		100
Redcar and Cleveland	61	59	63	61	59	63	65	56	73	57	46	70	100				N/A*
Richmond upon Thames	71	69	73	73	71	76	70	72	69	70	67	72	50	50	50
Rochdale	59	55	63	58	53	63	61	64	60	61	57	64	68	62	76			N/A*
Rotherham	62	57	67	62	57	67	67	67	68	58	51	64	61	50	72			100
Rutland	76	71	83	77	71	84	67									N/A*	N/A*	N/A*
Salford	53	50	57	52	49	55	60	56	66	68	57	82	63	57	68
Sandwell	50	45	55	46	41	51	48	43	54	59	56	63	47	38	56
Sefton	60	55	66	61	55	68	63	61	66	70			40	38	43	100
Sheffield	59	56	63	61	58	63	53	51	55	57	52	61	56	48	66	83	57	100
Shropshire	63	59	67	63	59	68	66
Slough	72	68	77	63	55	71	74	72	77	79	76	82	63	61	65	100
Solihull	65	60	71	66	61	71	57	56	58	72	66	79	54	38	68			100
Somerset	63	58	68	63	58	67	67	61	72	76	64	88	50			73
South Gloucestershire	60	57	63	60	58	63	54	44	68	72	67	80	51	48	57	100
South Tyneside	62	57	68	63	58	67	53			67	46	84				N/A*	N/A*	N/A*
Southampton	57	52	62	54	50	59	56	39	71	78	73	83	59	61	58		100
Southend-on-Sea	69	66	72	67	63	70	66	59	73	84	84	85	78	74	83			100
Southwark	69	68	71	66	68	64	66	61	70	77	74	79	71	66	75	91
St. Helens	60	56	64	61	56	65	80				100		63			100
Staffordshire	60	56	64	60	56	64	57	60	55	60	56	64	60	64	57	80
Stockport	66	63	69	66	63	69	73	70	78	68	59	78	67			56	50	60
Stockton-on-Tees	64	60	69	64	60	68	64			63	57	69
Stoke-on-Trent	56	53	58	55	52	58	48	44	52	60	60	60	44	42	46
Suffolk	60	56	64	60	57	64	56	50	60	67	71	63	47	32	61
Sunderland	59	54	64	59	54	63	56	50	60	72	74	71	50			100	N/A*	100
Surrey	70	66	74	70	66	74	74	69	78	74	70	79	63	65	61	86	76	100
Sutton	77	76	78	71	71	72	76	77	75	93	90	95	74	73	76	100	100	100
Swindon	61	57	65	60	56	65	67	69	65	67	68	67	62	52	71
Tameside	64	60	67	63	60	66	68	56	82	67	62	72	66	71	61	67
Telford and Wrekin	59	55	63	59	55	64	56	50	62	53	53	54	53	57	47			100
Thurrock	62	57	67	59	54	64	77	75	79	69	60	77	75	72	77	67
Torbay	63	63	62	65	65	65	75	83	68				57			100	100	100
Tower Hamlets	63	63	64	52	50	53	55	52	59	68	68	67	61	62	60	100	100	100
Trafford	75	72	79	75	72	77	73	65	80	81	77	85	69	64	74	90	82	100
Wakefield	64	58	70	64	58	70	64	52	73	65	63	66	63	56	77
Walsall	57	54	61	55	52	59	54	46	62	67	65	68	55	47	66	100
Waltham Forest	64	59	68	63	59	68	62	62	61	71	66	76	57	47	64	55	40	67
Wandsworth	70	67	72	71	69	72	72	67	78	77	79	75	61	55	67	100	100	100
Warrington	64	60	67	64	60	67	51	40	67	80	77	84	36				100
Warwickshire	67	64	71	67	64	70	72	68	75	77	75	78	52	38	62	69	50	100
West Berkshire	65	60	71	66	61	72	63	61	64	76	72	81	60	62	58			100
West Sussex	65	61	69	65	62	69	61	57	65	71	67	75	39	36	43	58
Westminster	72	66	77	78	67	85	75	66	84	72	69	76	65	59	72			100
Wigan	63	57	68	63	57	68	55	30	72	63	70	50	69			100
Wiltshire	66	62	70	66	62	71	73	72	74	73	76	70	55	50	63	100	100	100
Windsor and Maidenhead	72	67	78	73	68	78	79	79	78	68	58	78	66			100
Wirral	66	61	71	66	61	70	70	65	74	78	78	78		100		100	100	100
Wokingham	73	68	79	75	70	79	64	58	73	70	67	75	64	54	74	100	100	100
Wolverhampton	59	52	66	56	49	63	48	40	56	74	69	79	53	43	64
Worcestershire	65	61	69	65	62	69	65	60	70	63	53	74	30
York	69	64	74	68	64	73	82			100	100	100	56

^* Not applicable Data withheld to protect confidentiality

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of A* to C in English and Maths GCSE attainment for children aged 14 to 16 (key stage 4) A* to C in English and Maths GCSE by ethnicity, gender and area Summary

The data shows that:

• in most local authorities, a higher percentage of girls achieved A* to C in English and Maths GCSE than boys

• White pupils saw the biggest gap between girls and boys in Westminster in London – 85% of girls achieved A* to C in English and Maths GCSE, compared with 67% of boys, a gap of 18 percentage points

• Asian pupils saw the biggest gap between girls and boys in in the East Riding of Yorkshire in Yorkshire and the Humber – 100% of girls achieved A* to C in English and Maths GCSE, compared with 43% of boys, a gap of 57 percentage points

• Mixed pupils saw the biggest gap between girls and boys in Wigan in the North West – 72% of girls achieved A* to C in English and Maths GCSE, compared with 30% of boys, a gap of 42 percentage points

• Black pupils saw the biggest gap between girls and boys in Blackburn with Darwen in the North West – 100% of girls achieved A* to C in English and Maths GCSE, compared with 36% of boys, a gap of 64 percentage points

• Chinese pupils saw the biggest gap between girls and boys in Newham in London, and Warwickshire in the West Midlands, at 50 percentage points in each local authority

8. A* to C in English and Maths GCSE by ethnicity, gender and basis for school admission

• Location: England
• Time period: 2015/16
• Source: Key stage 4 and multi-academy trust performance 2018

Percentage of pupils attaining A* to C in English and Maths GCSE by ethnicity, gender and basis for school admission

	All			Asian			Black			Chinese			Mixed			White
Admissions basis	All All	All Boys	All Girls	Asian All	Asian Boys	Asian Girls	Black All	Black Boys	Black Girls	Chinese All	Chinese Boys	Chinese Girls	Mixed All	Mixed Boys	Mixed Girls	White All	White Boys	White Girls
All state-funded mainstream schools	64	61	68	68	65	71	60	55	66	84	79	89	64	60	67	64	61	68
Non-selective schools in highly selective areas	55	51	59	63	57	70	61	53	69	74	66	85	57	54	59	55	51	58
Non-selective schools in other areas (inc. low selective areas)	63	60	67	66	63	69	59	54	64	80	75	86	62	58	66	63	60	67
Selective schools	99	99	99	99	99	100							99	98	99	99	98	99

Data withheld to protect confidentiality

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of A* to C in English and Maths GCSE attainment for children aged 14 to 16 (key stage 4) A* to C in English and Maths GCSE by ethnicity, gender and basis for school admission Summary

This data groups schools by type into the following 3 categories, according to whether they select their pupils by ability:

• selective schools
• non-selective schools in highly selective areas (where 25% or more of state-funded secondary places are in state-funded selective schools)
• all other non-selective schools (including schools in local authorities with some selection, as well as those with no selection)

The data shows that:

• in 2015/16, 22,512 of pupils (4%) in key stage 4 were in selective schools, 34,658 (7%) in non-selective schools in highly selective areas, and 472,525 (89%) in non-selective schools in other areas

• in all types of school except selective schools, a higher percentage girls achieved A* to C in English and Maths GCSE than boys

• Asian girls in selective schools did best: 100% achieved A*to C in English and Maths GCSE

• White boys in non-selective schools in highly selective areas did least well: 51% achieved A*to C in English and Maths GCSE

9. A* to C in English and Maths GCSE by ethnicity and school type

• Location: England
• Time period: 2015/16
• Source: Key stage 4 and multi-academy trust performance 2018

Percentage of pupils attaining A* to C in English and Maths GCSE by ethnicity and school type

	All		Asian		Black		Chinese		Mixed		White
School type	All Pupils	All %	Asian Pupils	Asian %	Black Pupils	Black %	Chinese Pupils	Chinese %	Mixed Pupils	Mixed %	White Pupils	White %
All state-funded mainstream schools	530,580	64	50,515	68	27,407	60	2,008	84	22,465	64	414,528	64
Local authority maintained mainstream schools	191,701	62	21,499	65	11,496	58	591	79	8,130	60	145,402	62
Academies and free schools	337,452	65	28,983	70	15,874	62	1,416	85	14,288	66	268,711	65
Sponsored academies	85,080	53	7,419	59	6,173	58	277	81	3,759	55	64,925	52
Converter academies	247,551	70	20,958	75	9,482	65	1,127	87	10,292	70	200,260	70
Free schools	1,838	65	411	73	60	53	8		79	79	1,187	62
University technical colleges	1,864	51	125	41	130	42			108	57	1,412	54
Studio schools	1,119	34	70	37	29	35			50	38	927	33
Further education colleges with provision for 14- to 16-year-olds	885	10	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*
State-funded special schools	10,109	1	703		517		18		403	1	8,235	1
All state-funded schools	540,689	63	51,218	67	27,924	59	2,026	83	22,868	63	422,763	63

^* Not applicable Data withheld to protect confidentiality

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of A* to C in English and Maths GCSE attainment for children aged 14 to 16 (key stage 4) A* to C in English and Maths GCSE by ethnicity and school type Summary

The data shows that:

• 35% of pupils were in local authority-maintained mainstream schools, 62% were in academies and free schools, 2% were in state-funded special schools and 0.2% in further education colleges in 2015/16

• overall, there were 530,580 pupils in state-funded mainstream schools, of whom 78% were White, 4% were Mixed, 10% were Asian, 5% were Black and 0.4% were Chinese

• in all state-funded mainstream schools, Chinese pupils had the highest percentage of pupils achieving A* to C in English and Maths GCSE (84%), while Black pupils had the lowest (60%)

10. A* to C in English and Maths GCSE by ethnicity, Special Education Needs (SEN) and gender

• Location: England
• Time period: 2015/16
• Source: Key stage 4 and multi-academy trust performance 2018

Percentage of pupils attaining A* to C in English and Maths GCSE by ethnicity, special education needs and gender

	All			Asian			Black			Chinese			Mixed			White
SEN	All All	All Boys	All Girls	Asian All	Asian Boys	Asian Girls	Black All	Black Boys	Black Girls	Chinese All	Chinese Boys	Chinese Girls	Mixed All	Mixed Boys	Mixed Girls	White All	White Boys	White Girls
No identified SEN	70	67	72	73	70	75	66	61	70	86	81	90	69	67	72	70	67	72
All SEN	24	23	27	25	24	26	23	21	26	42	36	52	26	24	30	24	23	27
SEN Support	29	28	31	29	29	30	28			49			31	28	34	29	28	31
SEN with a statement or EHC plan	10	11	8	10	10	10	8			28			12	12	10	10	11	8

Data withheld to protect confidentiality

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of A* to C in English and Maths GCSE attainment for children aged 14 to 16 (key stage 4) A* to C in English and Maths GCSE by ethnicity, Special Education Needs (SEN) and gender Summary

Pupils with special education needs (SEN) have learning difficulties or disabilities that make it harder for them to learn than most children of the same age.

From 2015, pupils have been categorised as follows:

• no identified SEN
• SEN support: extra or different help is given from that provided as part of the school's usual curriculum, and the class teacher and SEN coordinator (SENCO) may receive advice or support from outside specialists
• SEN statement or education, health and care (EHC) plan: a pupil is given a * SEN statement or an EHC plan once a formal assessment has been made

The data shows that:

• in 2015/16, there were 78,682 pupils at the end of key stage 4 with SEN: 80% were White, 7% were Asian, 6% were Black, 4% were Mixed and 0.2% were Chinese

• of the 78,682 SEN students in total, 74% had SEN support and 26% had SEN with a statement or EHC plan

• across all ethnic groups, SEN pupils were less likely to achieve an A* to C in English and Maths GCSE than non-SEN pupils: 24% of SEN pupils did so, compared with 70% of pupils without SEN

• of all SEN pupils, Chinese pupils were the most likely to achieve A* to C in English and Maths GCSE (42%), and Black pupils the least likely (23%)

• looking at those with SEN support, Chinese pupils were the most likely to achieve A* to C in English and Maths GCSE (49%) and Black pupils the least likely (28%)

• of SEN pupils with a statement or EHC plan, Chinese pupils were the most likely to achieve A* to C in English and Maths GCSE (28%) and Black pupils the least likely (8%)

11. A* to C in English and Maths GCSE by ethnicity, religion of school and gender

• Location: England
• Time period: 2015/16
• Source: Key stage 4 and multi-academy trust performance 2018

Percentage of pupils achieving A* to C in English and Maths by ethnicity, religion of school and gender

	All			Asian			Black			Chinese			Mixed			White
Religion of school	All All	All Boys	All Girls	Asian All	Asian Boys	Asian Girls	Black All	Black Boys	Black Girls	Chinese All	Chinese Boys	Chinese Girls	Mixed All	Mixed Boys	Mixed Girls	White All	White Boys	White Girls
All state-funded mainstream schools	64	61	68	68	65	71	60	55	66	84	79	89	64	60	67	64	61	68
Church of England schools	66	63	70	71	68	74	62	56	67	88	88	88	66	65	68	66	63	69
Jewish schools	82	82	82	87			69						78	75	80	82	83	80
Muslim schools	82	85	81	83	86	82	71	70	71	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	44	N/A*			N/A*
No religious character	64	60	67	67	64	70	58	52	63	84	79	89	63	59	67	63	60	67
Other Christian faith schools	64	61	66	80	79	81	63	59	69	85			69	70	67	62	59	65
Roman Catholic schools	69	65	72	73	68	79	68	63	72	80	72	85	68	64	72	68	65	71
Sikh school	72	64	81														N/A*

^* Not applicable Data withheld to protect confidentiality

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of A* to C in English and Maths GCSE attainment for children aged 14 to 16 (key stage 4) A* to C in English and Maths GCSE by ethnicity, religion of school and gender Summary

This data divides schools into the following religious categories:

• no religious character
• Church of England schools
• Roman Catholic schools
• Other Christian faith schools (including those of mixed denomination or other Christian beliefs, for example, Greek Orthodox)
• Jewish schools
• Muslim schools
• Sikh schools

The data shows that:

• in 2015/16, there were 530,580 key stage 4 pupils in state-funded mainstream schools in England

• 82% of pupils attended schools with with no religious character, 6% attended Church of England schools, 10% attended Roman Catholic schools, 2% attended Other Christian faith schools, 0.2% attended Jewish, 0.1% attended Muslim and 0.03% attended Sikh schools

• Chinese girls at state-funded mainstream schools and schools with no religious character were most likely to achieve A* to C in English and Maths GCSE – 89% did so

• Black boys at schools with no religious character were least likely to achieve A* to C in English and Maths GCSE – 52% did so

• for all ethnic groups, pupils at Jewish and Muslim schools were most like to achieve A*-C in English and Maths GCSE - 82% did so

12. Methodology

The key stage 4 datasets are compiled using information matched together from 3 data sources:

• prior attainment records (key stage 2 results)
• school census records
• qualification entries and results collected from awarding bodies

The census data is provided for all pupils aged 5 and over on 31 August 2016. Any information that still needs to be collected is recorded as ‘not yet obtained’.

If a pupil or parent refused to give information, this is recorded as 'refused'.

These statistics include pupils whose ethnicity was not obtained, who refused to respond, or whose ethnicity could not be determined.

Key stage 4 data received from awarding bodies are combined with pupil characteristics from the school census and prior attainment. Records are matched, using identifiers such as surname, forename, date of birth, UPN, gender and postcode. This successfully matches around 98% of results.

The statistics in this commission cover the data collated for the 2016 secondary school performance tables. The performance tables and the related statistical first release report results based on pupils at the end of key stage 4, who are typically aged 15 at the start of the academic year.

The coverage of the local authority and regional statistics is state-funded mainstream schools in England. This includes city technology colleges and academies but excludes hospital schools, pupil referral units and alternative provision.

Pupils are included in the figures for free school meals (FSM) if their families have claimed eligibility for FSM at the time of the annual spring school census. This FSM definition includes all who were eligible to receive free school meals, not only those who actually received free school meals. Pupils not eligible for free school meals or unclassified pupils are described as ‘Non-FSM’ or ‘All other pupils’.

Parents are able to claim FSM if they receive a qualifying benefit.

FSM is used as an indicator of disadvantage, but when drawing conclusions, it should be remembered that not all eligible parents apply for FSM and families who don’t quite reach the eligibility threshold for FSM may still be suffering deprivation.

Suppression rules and disclosure control

Values of 1 or 2, or a percentage based on 1 or 2 pupils who achieved; or 0, 1 or 2 pupils who did not achieve a particular level are suppressed in circumstances where non-suppression would lead to disclosure of pupils. Some additional figures have been suppressed to prevent the possibility of a suppressed figure being revealed.

This suppression is consistent with DfE’s statistical policy statement on confidentiality (PDF opens in a new window or tab) (PDF). The Code of Practice for Official Statistics requires DfE to take reasonable steps to ensure that their published or disseminated statistics protect confidentiality.

For more information about DfE’s disclosure control procedures for its statistical releases please see DfE’s statistical policy statement on confidentiality (PDF opens in a new window or tab) (PDF).

Rounding

Figures in charts and tables are rounded to the nearest whole number.

In downloads, percentages are given to 1 decimal place.

Related publications

Schools, pupils and their characteristics: January 2016

Quality and methodology information

13. Data sources

Source

Key stage 4 and multi-academy trust performance 2018

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).

14. Download the data

A* to C in English and Maths GCSE attainment for children aged 14 to 16 (key stage 4) in England - Spreadsheet (csv) 126 KB

This file contains the following: ethnicity, year, gender, FSM, admissions basis, type of school, SEN, religious character, value and denominator

A* to C in English and Maths GCSE attainment for children aged 14 to 16 (key stage 4) by local authority - Spreadsheet (csv) 482 KB

This file contains the following: ethnicity, year, local authority, gender, value and denominator

Publication release date: 10 October 2017

Updated: 8 March 2018

full page history

1. 8 March 2018 fixed asterisk markdown
2. 5 March 2018 minor corrections for style
3. 6 December 2017 Duplication in Methodology removed
4. 11 October 2017 Technical change: Updated url to match page title.
5. 10 October 2017 First published

From: Department for Education

---

Share this page

Twitter Facebook LinkedIn