GCSE results (‘Attainment 8’) for children aged 14 to 16 (key stage 4)

Published 10 October 2017

Last updated 5 March 2018 - see all updates

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Contents

1. Main facts and figures

• in 2015/16, there were 540,689 pupils in key stage 4 at state-funded mainstream schools in England, and ethnicity was known for 534,918 (99%) of them

• 78% were White, 9% were Asian, 5% were Black, 4% were Mixed, 1.5% came from the Other ethnic group and 0.4% were Chinese

• Chinese, Asian and Mixed pupils on average scored higher than the national average for Attainment 8

• White pupils and Black pupils scored at or just below the national average for Attainment 8

• Gypsy/Roma and Irish Traveller pupils had the lowest average score for Attainment 8

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.

Because the results for Chinese pupils are based on a very small number, the average score for this group can be heavily influenced by one pupil either performing exceptionally, or getting a very low score.

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).

The Attainment 8 measure only includes qualifications which count towards the secondary performance tables.

Schools that offer unapproved qualifications, such as unregulated international GCSEs, will not have these qualifications counted in the performance tables. Achievements in these qualifications by pupils at such schools are not reflected in this data.

This data therefore represents the performance of schools and pupils in qualifications which count in the performance tables, rather than all qualifications taken by pupils. The difference between the figures for all schools and state-funded mainstream schools is mostly due to the impact of the unregulated international GCSEs taken in independent schools.

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 how children perform in exams for 8 GCSE-level qualifications, referred to by the Department of Education (DfE) as ‘Attainment 8’.

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.

Attainment 8 is one of two ways of measuring how well children do in key stage 4, brought in by DfE in 2016. The other is ‘Progress 8’. (You can see an analysis of Progress 8 scores broken down by ethnicity.)

The 8 subjects which make up Attainment 8 include English and Maths, which are both ‘double-weighted’, meaning they are given twice the importance of other subjects.

Of the remaining 6 subjects, 3 must come from qualifications that go towards the English Baccalaureate (EBacc), and 3 can be either EBacc subjects, GCSE subjects, or technical qualifications from a list approved by the Department of Education.

Each individual grade a pupil achieves is assigned a point score, which is then used to calculate their total Attainment 8 score.

To calculate the national average for Attainment 8, DfE adds together all the Attainment 8 scores given to individual children, and divides them by the total number of pupils in key stage 4.

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. GCSE-level exam results (‘Attainment 8’) by ethnicity

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

Attainment 8 scores by ethnicity

Ethnicity	Score	Pupils
All	50	540,689
Asian	53	51,218
Bangladeshi	52	8,319
Indian	57	14,046
Pakistani	49	20,434
Asian other	55	8,419
Black	49	27,924
Black African	50	17,349
Black Caribbean	45	7,216
Black other	47	3,359
Chinese	62	2,026
Mixed	51	22,868
Mixed White/Asian	55	5,089
Mixed White/Black African	50	2,687
Mixed White/Black Caribbean	46	7,160
Mixed other	52	7,932
White	50	422,763
White British	50	395,316
White Irish	55	1,774
White Irish Traveller	29	122
White Gypsy/Roma	20	1,107
White other	50	24,444
Other	50	8,119
Unknown	44	5,771

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of GCSE results (‘Attainment 8’) for children aged 14 to 16 (key stage 4) GCSE-level exam results (‘Attainment 8’) by ethnicity Summary

This data shows that:

• the average Attainment 8 score for all pupils in both state-funded mainstream and special schools was 50

• among the broad ethnic groups, Chinese pupils scored an average of 62 and Asian pupils an average of 53, both higher than the national average for Attainment 8

• Mixed race pupils scored an average of 51, White pupils 50, and Black pupils 49

• looking at the specific ethnic minority categories, Indian pupils scored an average of 57, and Gypsy/Roma children had the lowest average score, at 20

3. GCSE-level exam results (‘Attainment 8’) 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

Attainment 8 scores by ethnicity groups and eligibility for free school meals

	Non-FSM		FSM
Ethnicity	Non-FSM Score	Non-FSM Pupils	FSM Score	FSM Pupils
All	52	468,161	39	72,528
Asian	54	42,200	47	9,018
Bangladeshi	53	5,858	50	2,461
Indian	58	13,004	49	1,042
Pakistani	50	15,898	44	4,536
Asian other	56	7,440	48	979
Black	50	21,380	44	6,544
Black African	52	13,263	46	4,086
Black Caribbean	47	5,527	40	1,689
Black other	48	2,590	42	769
Chinese	63	1,896	59	130
Mixed	53	18,628	41	4,240
Mixed White/Asian	56	4,357	43	732
Mixed White/Black African	52	2,158	44	529
Mixed White/Black Caribbean	49	5,540	39	1,620
Mixed other	54	6,573	42	1,359
White	51	373,168	37	49,595
White British	52	348,878	36	46,438
White Irish	57	1,561	40	213
White Irish Traveller	35	49	26	73
White Gypsy/Roma	20	777	21	330
White other	50	21,903	43	2,541
Other	52	6,095	46	2,024
Unknown	46	4,794	37	977

Download table data (CSV) Source data (CSV)

Summary of GCSE results (‘Attainment 8’) for children aged 14 to 16 (key stage 4) GCSE-level exam results (‘Attainment 8’) 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.

This 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 Other ethnic background, 23% of Black pupils, 19% of pupils from a Mixed race background, 18% of Asian pupils, 12% of White pupils and 6% of Chinese pupils were eligible for FSM

• pupils eligible for FSM had an average Attainment 8 score of 39, which is 13 points lower than the average for all other children

• the average score was lower for pupils eligible for FSM across all ethnicities, with the exception of Gypsy/Roma children, where there was little difference between those eligible and those not eligible

• Chinese pupils eligible for FSM had the highest score (59) in this group of pupils, and White pupils eligible for FSM the lowest (37)

• White Irish pupils saw the biggest gap between the 2 groups, at 17 points, with FSM-eligible pupils scoring an average of 40 and those non-eligible scoring 57

• please be aware that 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 FSM in 2015/16) and are highly variable over time

4. GCSE-level exam results (‘Attainment 8’) by ethnicity and area

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

Attainment 8 scores by ethnicity and area

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

^* Not applicable Data withheld to protect confidentiality

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Summary of GCSE results (‘Attainment 8’) for children aged 14 to 16 (key stage 4) GCSE-level exam results (‘Attainment 8’) by ethnicity and area Summary

This data shows that:

• Sutton has the highest average Attainment 8 score (59) and Knowsley the lowest (39)

• the average score for Attainment 8 was lower in the Midlands and northern parts of the country than in the south of England and London

• White pupils achieved their highest average score (58) in Westminster, and Kensington and Chelsea

• pupils of Mixed ethnicity achieved their highest average score in Kingston-Upon-Thames and Gateshead (61)

• Asian pupils achieved their highest average score in York (70)

• Black pupils pupils achieved their highest average score in Southend-on-Sea and Sutton (59)

• Chinese pupils pupils achieved their highest average score in Reading (78)

• the lowest scores for Attainment 8 were found in Knowsley (for White pupils), in Sandwell (for Mixed pupils), on the Isle of Wight (for Asian and Chinese pupils), and in South Tyneside (for Black pupils)

5. GCSE-level exam results (‘Attainment 8’) by ethnicity and gender

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

Attainment 8 scores by ethnicity and gender

	All		Boys		Girls
Ethnicity	All Score	All Pupils	Boys Score	Boys Pupils	Girls Score	Girls Pupils
All	50	540,689	48	275,606	52	265,083
Asian	53	51,218	50	26,559	55	24,659
Bangladeshi	52	8,319	50	4,239	54	4,080
Indian	57	14,046	55	7,321	59	6,725
Pakistani	49	20,434	46	10,559	51	9,875
Asian other	55	8,419	52	4,440	58	3,979
Black	49	27,924	46	13,911	52	14,013
Black African	50	17,349	48	8,669	53	8,680
Black Caribbean	45	7,216	42	3,548	49	3,668
Black other	47	3,359	43	1,694	51	1,665
Chinese	62	2,026	60	1,033	65	993
Mixed	51	22,868	48	11,535	53	11,333
Mixed White/Asian	55	5,089	53	2,542	57	2,547
Mixed White/Black African	50	2,687	48	1,354	53	1,333
Mixed White/Black Caribbean	46	7,160	43	3,614	49	3,546
Mixed other	52	7,932	50	4,025	54	3,907
White	50	422,763	48	215,354	52	207,409
White British	50	395,316	48	201,407	52	193,909
White Irish	55	1,774	52	883	57	891
White Irish Traveller	29	122	27	67	32	55
White Gypsy/Roma	20	1,107	19	534	22	573
White other	50	24,444	47	12,463	52	11,981
Other	50	8,119	48	4,242	53	3,877
Unknown	44	5,771	41	2,972	47	2,799

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Summary of GCSE results (‘Attainment 8’) for children aged 14 to 16 (key stage 4) GCSE-level exam results (‘Attainment 8’) by ethnicity and gender Summary

This data shows that:

• on average, Attainment 8 scores were higher for girls than boys across all ethnic groups

• girls achieved an average score of 52, compared with boys who achieved an average score of 48

• Chinese girls achieved the highest average score, at 65

• Boys from a Gypsy/Roma background had the lowest average score, at 19

• the smallest difference in scores between girls and boys was found among pupils from a Gypsy/Roma background, where girls scored an average of 3 points more than boys

• the largest difference in scores between girls and boys was found among pupils from the Other Black background, where boys scored an average of 43 compared with 51 for girls

6. GCSE-level exam results (‘Attainment 8’) 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

Attainment 8 scores by ethnicity, gender and eligibility for free school meals (FSM)

	Non-FSM Boys		Non-FSM Girls		FSM Boys		FSM Girls
Ethnicity	Non-FSM Boys Score	Non-FSM Boys Pupils	Non-FSM Girls Score	Non-FSM Girls Pupils	FSM Boys Score	FSM Boys Pupils	FSM Girls Score	FSM Girls Pupils
All	49	238,526	54	229,635	37	37,080	42	35,448
Asian	52	21,835	56	20,365	45	4,724	49	4,294
Bangladeshi	51	2,972	55	2,886	48	1,267	51	1,194
Indian	56	6,782	59	6,222	47	539	52	503
Pakistani	48	8,163	52	7,735	42	2,396	46	2,140
Asian other	53	3,918	59	3,522	47	522	50	457
Black	47	10,594	53	10,786	41	3,317	47	3,227
Black African	49	6,594	54	6,669	43	2,075	49	2,011
Black Caribbean	44	2,710	50	2,817	36	838	44	851
Black other	45	1,290	52	1,300	39	404	46	365
Chinese	60	966	65	930	56	67	62	63
Mixed	50	9,414	55	9,214	39	2,121	44	2,119
Mixed White/Asian	55	2,180	58	2,177	41	362	46	370
Mixed White/Black African	49	1,079	54	1,079	41	275	47	254
Mixed White/Black Caribbean	46	2,798	52	2,742	36	816	42	804
Mixed other	51	3,357	56	3,216	40	668	44	691
White	49	190,070	54	183,098	34	25,284	39	24,311
White British	49	177,753	54	171,125	34	23,654	39	22,784
White Irish	54	768	59	793	38	115	41	98
White Irish Traveller	31	26	38	23	25	41	27	32
White Gypsy/Roma	19	377	22	400	19	157	22	173
White other	48	11,146	53	10,757	41	1,317	45	1,224
Other	49	3,182	54	2,913	44	1,060	48	964
Unknown	43	2,465	49	2,329	34	507	40	470

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Summary of GCSE results (‘Attainment 8’) for children aged 14 to 16 (key stage 4) GCSE-level exam results (‘Attainment 8’) 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.

This data shows that:

• overall, girls eligible for FSM scored an average of 5 points more for Attainment 8 than boys eligible for FSM

• White British FSM-eligible boys scored an average of 34 compared with White British non-eligible boys who scored 49; for White British girls the gap was 15 points, at 39 and 54 respectively

• within the broad ethnic categories, FSM-eligible Chinese girls had the highest average Attainment 8 score and FSM-eligible White boys the lowest

• Gypsy/Roma boys who were eligible for FSM had the lowest average score

• Chinese girls who were not eligible for FSM had the highest average score

• Black Caribbean pupils eligible for FSM showed the biggest difference in average score between girls and boys, with girls scoring an average of 8 points more

• pupils from a Traveller of Irish Heritage background also showed very little difference in average score between girls and boys who were eligible for FSM, but this finding was based on very small numbers (41 boys and 32 girls), making it hard to draw any firm conclusions

• apart from Travellers of Irish Heritage, the smallest difference in average score between girls and boys was found among Bangladeshi, Asian other, White Irish and Gypsy/Roma pupils eligible for FSM, with girls scoring 3 points more

7. GCSE-level exam results (‘Attainment 8’) by ethnicity, gender and area

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

Attainment 8 scores by ethnicity, gender and area

	All			Asian			Black			Chinese			Mixed			White
Local authority	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
County Durham	49	47	52	59	61	56	43	46	39	58			52	44	57	49	47	52
Darlington	48	46	51	47	48	46			N/A*	62	N/A*	62	51			48	47	50
Gateshead	50	48	52	60	56	65	56	53	59				61	59	62	50	48	51
Hartlepool	47	45	50	54	49	58	55					N/A*	52			47	45	50
Middlesbrough	46	44	48	52	51	54	52	50	55	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	51	48	53	46	44	47
Newcastle upon Tyne	49	47	50	52	52	53	50	48	52	55	53	58	54	52	55	48	47	49
North Tyneside	51	49	53	51	43	55	53	52	55	67	62	72	54	58	51	51	49	53
Northumberland	48	46	50	56	57	55				69			53	57	52	48	46	50
Redcar and Cleveland	48	46	50	49	43	56	54				N/A*		53	50	55	48	46	50
South Tyneside	49	46	52	52	44	58	38	18	50	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	46	50	41	49	47	51
Stockton-on-Tees	50	48	53	52	49	56		57					51	49	54	50	48	52
Sunderland	48	46	50	55	56	55	51	40	56	65	N/A*	65	48	42	54	48	46	50
Blackburn with Darwen	50	48	53	52	49	55	46	41	59			N/A*	51	45	56	49	47	51
Blackpool	44	43	45	53			43	52	35	60			46	41	51	44	43	45
Bolton	49	46	52	54	51	57	43	42	45	57			48	43	54	48	45	51
Bury	51	49	53	52	50	53	48	41	57	50			51	46	55	51	49	53
Cheshire East	52	50	54	51	51	52	48	48	49	60			51	47	54	52	50	54
Cheshire West and Chester	51	49	54	57	55	59	43	43	43	59	49	65	51	46	57	51	49	54
Cumbria	49	46	52	54	54	53	48	43	56	65	67	64	56	55	57	49	46	52
Halton	49	48	51			N/A*				N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	55	58	51	49	47	51
Knowsley	39	37	41								N/A*		48	52	44	39	36	41
Lancashire	50	47	52	50	46	53	52	49	55	63	61	66	51	47	54	50	47	52
Liverpool	47	46	49	55	55	55	47	44	50	63	63	63	45	42	48	47	46	49
Manchester	47	45	50	51	49	54	49	47	52	60	57	63	45	43	47	45	42	48
Oldham	46	43	49	46	44	48	44	47	39	65			44	44	44	46	43	50
Rochdale	48	46	50	49	46	51	52	49	54			N/A*	52	52	53	48	46	50
Salford	47	45	49	55	53	58	52	49	54	58			50	49	51	46	44	48
Sefton	49	47	52	52	47	60	46	45	47	59			50	50	50	50	47	53
St Helens	49	47	51	56	66	51	54			71			57	53	60	49	47	51
Stockport	52	50	54	53	50	57	50	48	56	52	43	57	53	49	58	52	50	53
Tameside	49	48	51	52	49	56	48	50	45	57	53	61	52	48	56	49	47	50
Trafford	57	55	59	59	57	63	54	52	56	68	62	74	57	55	59	56	54	58
Warrington	50	48	52	56	56	55	42	45	41	64	63	64	46	44	49	50	48	52
Wigan	51	48	53	53	56	49	53	45	59	65			51	46	55	51	48	53
Wirral	52	50	54	59	58	59	57	54	62	63	70	60	53	50	56	52	50	54
Barnsley	47	45	50	44			45	39	51	N/A*	N/A*	N/A*	51	50	53	47	45	50
Bradford	46	43	49	46	43	49	45	37	53		N/A*		44	41	47	46	43	48
Calderdale	52	50	53	49	48	49	53	50	59	60			49	45	52	52	50	54
Doncaster	47	45	49	49	48	49	42	41	43	62	57	65	48	44	52	47	44	49
East Riding of Yorkshire	52	50	54	49	42	59				63			52	48	59	52	50	54
Kingston upon Hull, City of	48	47	48	56	60	52	46	43	48		N/A*		53	49	59	48	48	49
Kirklees	49	46	52	50	47	52	46	41	50	63	63	62	45	42	47	49	46	52
Leeds	48	46	51	48	45	51	46	43	49	61	59	62	48	46	50	49	46	51
North East Lincolnshire	48	46	50	60							N/A*		49	47	53	48	46	49
North Lincolnshire	49	48	50	54	51	57	51			72	72	N/A*	52	48	55	49	47	50
North Yorkshire	52	50	54	57	56	59	48	38	61	67	65	69	55	54	55	52	49	54
Rotherham	49	46	51	48	45	52	51	50	53	67	67	68	50	48	52	49	46	51
Sheffield	48	46	51	47	45	50	47	45	51	66	63	68	46	43	49	49	47	51
Wakefield	49	46	51	49	44	54	46	42	53	52			51	47	54	49	46	51
York	53	51	55	70	63	72	54	44	59	62	67	58	59	53	65	53	51	55
Derby	46	44	49	48	46	51	44	39	47	64	57	72	46	43	48	46	44	48
Derbyshire	49	47	51	49			54			52	50	58	49	48	50	49	47	51
Leicester	46	44	49	51	48	54	46	43	49	62	N/A*	62	44	42	46	40	38	43
Leicestershire	50	47	52	57	55	59	50	48	53	56	50	63	51	48	55	49	47	51
Lincolnshire	50	48	52	65