GCSE results (‘Attainment 8’)

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1. Main facts and figures

  • in 2017/18, the average score for ‘Attainment 8’ (which measures pupils’ performance in 8 GCSE-level qualifications) was 46.5 out of 90
  • pupils from the Chinese, Asian and Mixed ethnic groups scored higher than average for Attainment 8
  • White pupils and Black pupils scored lower than average
  • pupils from the White Gypsy/Roma and Irish Traveller ethnic groups had the lowest average scores
  • in every ethnic group, girls had a higher average Attainment 8 score than boys
  • in every ethnic group, pupils eligible for free school meals had a lower average Attainment 8 score than those not eligible
Things you need to know

In 2017/18, 523,626 pupils were entered for GCSEs in state-funded mainstream schools. Ethnicity was known for 516,460 (99%) of them.

Of the students for whom ethnicity was known:

  • 77% were White
  • 11% were Asian
  • 6% were Black
  • 5% had Mixed ethnicity
  • 0.4% were from the Chinese ethnic group
  • 1.7% were from the Other ethnic group

The way of calculating Attainment 8 scores changed slightly in 2017 to reduce the impact of the reformed GCSEs (which use a number scale from 9 to 1).

As a result, you should use caution when comparing data from 2017/18 to previous years’ data.

Some of the statistics quoted here are based on very small numbers of pupils and can change a lot from year to year. For example, only 107 pupils in the Chinese ethnic group were eligible for free school meals in 2017/18.

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.

The data shows that Traveller of Irish Heritage pupils had a low average Attainment 8 score (21.9). However, this is based on 111 pupils taking GCSEs in 2017/18. This was a much smaller number than for other ethnic groups. Therefore, it isn’t possible to make reliable generalisations about Traveller of Irish Heritage pupils or compare them with other ethnic groups.

The ethnicity of 1.4% of pupils (7,166) was 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 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 faith schools is 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 and their first language isn’t English
  • was admitted following a permanent exclusion from another school
  • was not at the end of key stage 4
  • left England to live abroad
  • died

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

Some information about local authorities may be different to last year due to changes in suppression rules. (Suppression is where some data is excluded, for example if the size of the ethnic group population is small enough that an individual’s identity could be revealed.)

Local authority data doesn’t include figures for pupils in the ‘Other’ ethnic group. Instead, these pupils are included in the ‘All’ category, which also includes pupils for whom ethnicity wasn’t known.

Local authorities that have not reported any data do not appear in the accompanying data files.

What the data measures

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

Attainment 8 is one of two ways of measuring how well children do in key stage 4. The other is Progress 8. Key stage 4 covers school years 10 and 11, when children are 14 to 16 years old.

The 8 subjects which make up Attainment 8 include English and Maths, which are both ‘double-weighted’, meaning pupils’ scores in them are doubled.

Of the remaining 6 subjects:

  • 3 must come from qualifications that count towards the English Baccalaureate (EBacc), like sciences, language and history
  • 3 can be either EBacc subjects, GCSE subjects, or technical qualifications from a list approved by the DfE

Each grade a pupil achieves is assigned a point score from 9 (the highest) to 1 (the lowest), which is then used to calculate their total Attainment 8 score.

A pupil’s Attainment 8 score is calculated by adding up the points for their 8 subjects (with England and Maths counted twice), and dividing by 10. A school's Attainment 8 score is the average of all of its eligible pupils’ scores.

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 at the end of key stage 4.

This data covers the academic year 2017/18 (September 2017 to July 2018).

For the ‘By ethnicity and type of school’ table, schools are divided into the following 9 categories:

  • local authority-maintained mainstream schools
  • academies and free schools
  • converter academies
  • free schools
  • further education colleges with provision for 14 to 16-year-olds
  • sponsored academies
  • state-funded special schools
  • studio schools
  • university technical colleges

There are also 2 categories which group several school types together:

  • all state-funded schools (includes local authority-maintained schools, academies, free schools, city technology colleges and state-funded special schools)
  • all state-funded mainstream schools (as above but excludes state-funded special schools)

Find more on types of school on pages 30 and 31 of Revised GCSE and equivalent results in England 2017 to 2018: Quality and methodology information (PDF opens in a new window or tab) (PDF).

For the 'By ethnicity and religion of school' data, schools are divided into the following religious categories:

  • no religious character – these accounted for 82% of pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2017/18
  • Church of England schools – 6% of pupils
  • Roman Catholic schools – 10%
  • Other Christian faith schools (including those of mixed denomination or other Christian beliefs, for example, Greek Orthodox) – 2%
  • Jewish schools – 0.3%
  • Muslim schools – 0.2%
  • Sikh schools – 0.1%
  • Hindu schools – 0.02%
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 is included in the Asian/Asian British group but is not reported separately
  • Chinese pupils have been assigned a separate category from Asian

These changes were made after consulting local authorities and lobby groups.

Data is reported for 6 broad and 16 specific ethnic groups. These are:

Asian/Asian British:

  • Indian
  • Pakistani
  • Bangladeshi
  • Other Asian background

Black/African/Caribbean/Black British:

  • Black African
  • Black Caribbean
  • Other Black background

Mixed/Multiple ethnic groups:

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

White:

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

Chinese

Other ethnic group

Some data is shown only for 5 or 6 broad ethnic groups.

The 6 broad groups are:

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

The Other ethnic group isn’t included in data analysed by local authority area, basis for school admission, school type, special educational needs, and religion of school because DfE does not publish this data.

2. By ethnicity

Location:
England
Time period:
2017/18
Source:
Key stage 4 and multi-academy trust performance 2018
Average Attainment 8 score by ethnicity
Ethnicity Score Pupils
All 46.5 523,626
Asian 50.4 55,737
Bangladeshi 49.6 9,384
Indian 56.3 14,575
Pakistani 45.7 22,840
Asian other 53.6 8,938
Black 45.0 28,949
Black African 47.5 18,358
Black Caribbean 39.6 6,933
Black other 43.0 3,658
Chinese 64.2 1,875
Mixed 47.3 24,646
Mixed White/Asian 52.5 5,537
Mixed White/Black African 46.5 2,936
Mixed White/Black Caribbean 41.3 7,093
Mixed other 49.1 9,080
White 46.1 396,680
White British 46.1 367,680
White Irish 52.2 1,646
Gypsy/Roma 18.2 1,107
Irish Traveller 21.9 111
White other 47.0 26,136
Other 47.2 8,573
Unknown 40.0 7,166

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

Summary of GCSE results (‘Attainment 8’) By ethnicity Summary

This data shows that:

  • in 2017/18, the average Attainment 8 score for all pupils in state-funded mainstream schools in England was 46.5 out of 90
  • out of the 6 broad ethnic groups, the pupils with the highest Attainment 8 scores were from the Chinese (64.2), Asian (50.4) and Mixed (47.3) ethnic groups
  • White pupils (46.1) and Black pupils (45.0) scored lower than the national average
  • out of the 18 specific ethnic groups, the pupils with the highest scores on average were in the Chinese (64.2) and Indian (56.3) ethnic groups
  • the pupils with the lowest scores on average were in the White Gypsy/Roma (18.2) and Traveller of Irish Heritage (21.9) ethnic groups

3. By ethnicity and eligibility for free school meals

Location:
England
Time period:
2017/18
Source:
Key stage 4 and multi-academy trust performance 2018
Average Attainment 8 score 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 34.4 66,365 48.3 457,261
Asian 42.9 8,610 51.8 47,127
Bangladeshi 45.2 2,256 51.1 7,128
Indian 46.5 957 57.0 13,618
Pakistani 40.8 4,364 46.9 18,476
Asian other 43.5 1,033 54.9 7,905
Black 38.9 5,912 46.6 23,037
Black African 41.9 3,639 48.9 14,719
Black Caribbean 32.9 1,531 41.5 5,402
Black other 36.4 742 44.6 2,916
Chinese 57.6 107 64.6 1,768
Mixed 36.6 4,396 49.6 20,250
Mixed White/Asian 38.6 709 54.5 4,828
Mixed White/Black African 38.8 558 48.3 2,378
Mixed White/Black Caribbean 33.3 1,614 43.6 5,479
Mixed other 38.4 1,515 51.3 7,565
White 31.6 44,327 47.9 352,353
White British 31.2 41,457 47.9 326,223
White Irish 35.2 188 54.4 1,458
Gypsy/Roma 16.8 344 18.8 763
Irish Traveller 18.0 67 27.7 44
White other 39.7 2,271 47.7 23,865
Other 42.8 1,980 48.5 6,593
Unknown 32.9 1,033 41.2 6,133

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

Eligibility for free school meals (FSM) is used as an indicator of deprivation by the Department for Education.

The data shows that:

  • the average Attainment 8 score for pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM) was 34.4 – nearly 14 points lower than the average for all non-FSM pupils (48.3)
  • in every ethnic group, pupils eligible for FSM had lower average Attainment 8 scores than those not eligible
  • among FSM-eligible pupils, those from the Chinese ethnic group had the highest average Attainment 8 score out of the 6 broad ethnic groups (57.6), and White pupils had the lowest (31.6)
  • Gypsy/Roma and Traveller of Irish Heritage FSM pupils had the lowest average scores out of the 18 specific ethnic groups, at 16.8 and 18.0
  • the biggest gap between FSM-eligible pupils and those not eligible was in the White Irish ethnic group, where the average Attainment 8 score was 35.2 and 54.4 respectively (a gap of around 19 points)

4. By ethnicity and area

Location:
England
Time period:
2017/18
Source:
Key stage 4 and multi-academy trust performance 2018
Average Attainment 8 score by ethnicity and area
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
Barking and Dagenham 46.1 2,199 53.9 449 47.1 619 79.3 2 42.4 127 41.9 921
Barnet 56.0 3,810 67.8 532 47.1 497 72.0 44 55.0 409 55.4 1,914
Barnsley 42.5 2,011 51.8 8 36.8 14 N/A* 0 47.6 35 42.4 1,940
Bath and North East Somerset 48.7 2,074 57.0 23 40.8 24 72.0 5 48.9 94 49.0 1,868
Bedford 45.8 1,832 45.1 269 47.7 91 64.5 1 41.7 152 46.3 1,281
Bexley 49.6 3,032 58.6 232 54.8 620 66.0 33 48.4 194 46.7 1,901
Birmingham 45.8 12,166 46.9 5,017 43.3 1,489 75.0 42 45.1 864 45.8 3,992
Blackburn with Darwen 45.8 1,830 49.7 838 35.6 13 65.3 3 41.6 45 42.5 913
Blackpool 38.5 1,136 47.3 22 37.4 5 60.5 3 43.8 23 38.1 1,078
Bolton 44.6 3,251 50.3 698 44.0 146 61.6 5 41.3 109 43.1 2,238
Bournemouth 50.0 1,512 56.9 41 47.1 7 70.6 14 50.3 74 49.7 1,328
Bracknell Forest 48.1 1,043 54.1 59 47.3 21 57.0 1 49.3 41 47.7 911
Bradford 42.7 5,941 44.3 2,727 38.7 104 58.8 3 39.5 244 41.8 2,715
Brent 49.9 2,858 52.0 897 44.5 675 62.2 3 49.7 178 47.4 494
Brighton and Hove 48.0 2,169 51.2 57 42.1 58 57.7 13 48.4 191 48.0 1,775
Bristol, City of 45.5 3,109 48.0 261 40.6 345 61.7 13 45.7 248 46.0 2,167
Bromley 50.3 3,214 68.7 166 51.0 306 74.7 33 51.2 269 49.6 2,270
Buckinghamshire 55.0 5,665 56.2 1,021 53.1 187 64.2 18 54.6 327 54.7 4,015
Bury 45.2 2,113 46.9 307 40.0 46 56.2 8 42.0 97 45.0 1,618
Calderdale 49.4 2,410 48.2 384 48.3 26 64.1 4 49.6 73 49.7 1,909
Cambridgeshire 48.0 5,491 53.0 157 42.5 61 65.5 24 53.4 227 48.0 4,858
Camden 48.0 1,533 46.6 274 44.2 358 53.1 11 46.7 181 51.0 546
Central Bedfordshire 45.2 2,579 47.0 50 45.9 56 57.4 9 42.7 114 45.2 2,301
Cheshire East 48.8 3,537 50.7 61 44.0 12 71.3 8 47.5 85 48.8 3,328
Cheshire West and Chester 46.4 3,298 50.7 30 46.0 12 54.4 10 48.1 59 46.3 3,161
City of London N/A* 0 N/A* 0 N/A* 0 N/A* 0 N/A* 0 N/A* 0
Cornwall 45.1 5,117 50.7 16 56.0 5 36.4 6 46.1 82 45.1 4,940
County Durham 45.0 4,614 53.6 32 54.4 11 70.1 6 50.7 49 45.2 4,434
Coventry 43.3 3,377 49.2 687 43.9 335 58.1 6 40.7 192 41.4 2,105
Croydon 45.8 3,452 51.4 472 43.5 998 68.3 13 46.5 499 46.9 1,268
Cumbria 46.7 4,689 59.0 30 49.9 15 69.2 15 49.9 59 46.6 4,407
Darlington 45.8 1,097 49.3 32 50.6 5 52.5 4 50.9 32 45.5 1,008
Derby 43.2 2,747 48.0 487 42.8 96 57.4 12 40.9 174 42.3 1,925
Derbyshire 45.6 7,069 51.1 70 45.4 27 63.7 12 46.3 171 45.5 6,739
Devon 45.8 6,559 51.4 23 37.6 5 60.5 13 45.9 109 45.8 6,179
Doncaster 42.7 2,903 47.5 95 43.8 27 42.8 5 46.1 68 42.4 2,677
Dorset 47.4 3,989 59.4 28 45.9 7 62.7 12 51.7 79 47.2 3,827
Dudley 43.4 3,283 46.5 302 42.0 82 64.1 4 43.8 181 43.2 2,643
Ealing 50.0 2,853 51.8 824 44.3 563 72.5 11 50.0 222 51.8 837
East Riding of Yorkshire 48.1 3,151 64.0 7 27.7 3 56.7 3 53.6 58 47.9 3,032
East Sussex 45.2 4,665 54.2 80 46.1 25 59.6 12 48.1 183 45.0 4,274
Enfield 46.3 3,414 57.8 299 43.9 852 76.1 17 48.1 336 44.7 1,619
Essex 46.1 14,040 62.4 380 50.6 440 64.6 41 48.0 546 45.3 12,382
Gateshead 46.2 1,885 52.5 44 46.2 21 65.7 5 51.2 20 45.8 1,729
Gloucestershire 49.6 6,006 56.4 176 44.3 71 55.7 15 50.1 231 49.4 5,417
Greenwich 44.5 2,269 47.4 197 45.0 747 57.3 16 45.3 227 43.3 1,011
Hackney 49.0 2,058 50.7 258 45.1 758 56.0 9 46.7 172 53.1 713
Halton 44.2 1,333 38.8 4 N/A* 0 47.5 1 51.4 31 44.0 1,281
Hammersmith and Fulham 52.9 1,291 50.8 114 46.6 315 60.4 12 51.7 126 57.3 567
Hampshire 47.2 12,497 51.8 319 45.7 123 54.9 37 49.5 323 47.0 11,536
Haringey 46.3 2,190 50.7 158 39.4 566 63.5 9 47.2 222 49.4 1,021
Harrow 50.7 2,044 55.2 912 45.6 311 52.9 8 51.8 167 46.2 507
Hartlepool 42.3 1,016 52.1 25 38.6 4 45.5 1 45.6 17 42.0 966
Havering 46.9 2,774 52.6 146 50.1 366 71.1 7 48.0 143 45.7 2,025
Herefordshire, County of 45.9 1,644 58.8 7 32.0 3 62.3 2 47.7 37 45.9 1,580
Hertfordshire 51.5 12,372 59.4 947 49.1 532 67.9 65 52.2 797 50.7 9,820
Hillingdon 47.8 3,064 54.4 715 44.5 345 60.5 4 49.1 339 44.4 1,410
Hounslow 49.4 2,666 54.3 805 47.8 346 66.0 3 49.6 237 48.5 915
Isle of Wight 40.8 1,070 50.4 5 53.5 2 N/A* 0 37.7 15 40.8 1,042
Isles of Scilly 64.8 15 N/A* 0 N/A* 0 N/A* 0 67.0 1 64.0 13
Islington 46.3 1,404 52.5 179 43.7 406 55.3 9 44.5 181 46.4 484
Kensington and Chelsea 51.6 718 56.2 41 47.3 121 58.5 2 52.4 119 54.2 260
Kent 47.1 15,516 58.1 581 55.6 393 63.3 57 52.5 716 46.0 13,479
Kingston upon Hull, City of 43.3 2,307 51.8 34 45.3 36 72.5 2 48.1 55 43.8 2,036
Kingston upon Thames 57.8 1,515 66.2 384 47.5 76 78.8 12 53.9 134 55.0 841
Kirklees 45.4 4,488 45.6 1,235 39.2 80 67.3 15 39.2 254 46.0 2,861
Knowsley 35.3 929 39.0 4 42.3 2 42.0 1 26.3 12 35.4 900
Lambeth 44.6 2,114 52.6 96 42.1 1,012 59.0 16 43.9 258 48.2 540
Lancashire 46.7 11,631 47.6 1,347 42.8 41 65.8 36 47.9 258 46.5 9,797
Leeds 44.8 7,598 45.4 956 43.4 476 59.3 38 43.6 369 46.2 5,344
Leicester 42.8 3,511 47.4 1,719 43.0 365 59.3 7 40.3 229 35.8 1,108
Leicestershire 46.2 6,837 54.7 547 45.5 78 70.1 12 44.6 260 45.5 5,877
Lewisham 44.9 2,104 46.3 125 42.2 902 60.3 25 46.6 297 47.1 596
Lincolnshire 46.6 7,255 67.6 80 58.4 31 64.0 25 53.5 162 46.1 6,878
Liverpool 43.5 4,461 55.5 128 43.5 181 65.4 44 44.1 228 42.9 3,748
Luton 43.3 2,567 46.3 1,177 39.9 282 58.3 8 42.0 183 40.5 863
Manchester 43.2 4,734 47.7 1,068 43.7 815 59.9 45 42.9 375 40.5 2,081
Medway 46.0 2,899 57.1 156 55.3 124 66.3 7 48.5 136 44.7 2,424
Merton 49.7 1,404 52.7 232 45.4 261 67.9 10 46.6 149 51.0 677
Middlesbrough 42.4 1,337 49.5 177 47.4 18 75.3 2 47.4 44 41.7 1,021
Milton Keynes 44.5 2,774 48.4 240 43.8 376 58.3 11 43.6 192 44.1 1,892
Newcastle upon Tyne 45.1 2,438 49.8 268 48.9 91 62.9 16 51.9 77 43.9 1,906
Newham 48.7 3,745 52.2 1,710 47.0 890 62.2 9 47.6 210 42.3 657
Norfolk 45.1 7,486 56.6 94 45.2 88 60.5 18 48.4 181 44.8 6,995
North East Lincolnshire 43.4 1,558 43.4 15 51.2 3 54.8 2 43.5 23 44.1 1,360
North Lincolnshire 44.8 1,680 46.9 70 40.9 10 60.7 3 48.5 25 44.5 1,526
North Somerset 46.5 2,085 50.6 32 47.6 15 58.0 4 49.4 54 46.4 1,970
North Tyneside 46.0 1,879 51.3 34 46.6 9 41.1 5 55.4 30 45.9 1,782
North Yorkshire 48.5 5,971 52.6 111 50.3 24 60.4 5 52.7 110 48.3 5,654
Northamptonshire 45.1 7,323 49.4 343 43.7 334 61.0 28 44.4 333 44.9 6,196
Northumberland 46.1 3,056 56.0 41 42.0 6 55.5 3 50.3 39 46.2 2,933
Nottingham 41.4 2,539 45.9 467 42.4 285 58.5 11 40.5 240 39.8 1,441
Nottinghamshire 47.2 7,494 57.5 213 47.6 90 67.1 24 47.0 277 46.9 6,792
Oldham 42.7 2,957 43.2 894 42.7 85 67.8 7 37.7 107 43.0 1,781
Oxfordshire 46.8 5,886 43.6 293 44.1 126 62.8 25 45.3 324 47.3 4,944
Peterborough 42.0 2,305 43.3 365 43.0 80 66.0 7 43.8 130 41.5 1,679
Plymouth 44.1 2,480 62.8 20 45.0 15 60.1 13 47.4 47 43.7 2,339
Poole 51.2 1,306 59.4 38 35.1 4 59.0 7 57.7 53 50.7 1,188
Portsmouth 41.0 1,686 49.7 96 42.8 45 50.2 5 40.3 61 40.1 1,437
Reading 49.0 1,076 58.7 211 40.6 87 80.4 20 45.8 91 46.0 621
Redbridge 53.1 3,508 57.0 1,858 46.1 507 67.1 24 51.4 231 48.6 797
Redcar and Cleveland 43.6 1,517 53.0 26 68.3 2 64.0 3 50.5 16 43.3 1,459
Richmond upon Thames 51.7 1,479 55.4 111 42.1 62 58.4 6 48.7 145 52.3 1,110
Rochdale 43.5 2,231 44.7 617 43.2 66 61.1 8 41.9 74 42.9 1,430
Rotherham 43.6 3,141 45.8 272 48.1 28 65.2 8 44.0 68 43.3 2,739
Rutland 52.7 459 58.5 4 49.5 4 N/A* 0 62.4 10 52.5 439
Salford 41.0 2,082 53.9 42 47.0 90 58.8 5 44.3 99 40.1 1,786
Sandwell 40.6 3,634 44.7 1,066 38.5 318 45.3 4 40.1 241 38.7 1,896
Sefton 44.9 2,855 48.6 33 50.0 14 66.6 6 47.3 60 45.3 2,662
Sheffield 44.6 4,993 44.8 550 40.1 230 69.4 19 42.3 294 45.1 3,683
Shropshire 45.8 2,850 46.4 28 49.2 8 56.0 11 47.6 58 45.7 2,695
Slough 53.2 1,679 56.2 891 46.9 139 70.3 6 54.5 133 48.1 429
Solihull 47.2 2,917 50.2 319 43.6 88 68.9 7 43.2 218 47.2 2,204
Somerset 44.9 4,606 46.2 42 45.6 10 58.6 9 45.8 84 44.8 4,421
South Gloucestershire 44.8 2,498 51.8 75 47.8 39 62.9 5 45.1 99 44.5 2,251
South Tyneside 44.3 1,462 53.6 58 44.6 7 71.5 1 47.5 25 44.7 1,324
Southampton 43.3 1,893 48.1 203 46.4 48 72.5 6 45.0 103 42.3 1,511
Southend-on-Sea 52.0 2,019 65.5 200 63.5 133 69.8 13 54.0 83 49.2 1,565
Southwark 50.2 2,386 54.5 138 48.4 1,064 63.0 30 51.7 260 50.8 645
St. Helens 44.6 1,732 45.6 14 45.9 6 67.3 3 50.0 29 44.9 1,634
Staffordshire 44.6 8,288 44.7 287 45.0 43 59.4 19 42.7 229 44.5 7,642
Stockport 47.3 2,571 52.1 151 41.5 27 53.5 16 48.9 108 46.9 2,239
Stockton-on-Tees 46.8 1,929 49.7 117 57.9 15 63.3 5 51.1 41 46.4 1,739
Stoke-on-Trent 41.9 2,168 43.5 355 45.8 66 66.7 5 42.1 80 41.3 1,636
Suffolk 45.5 6,775 51.5 116 44.0 55 67.2 6 46.0 263 45.4 6,206
Sunderland 43.2 2,608 54.0 96 50.9 14 51.0 4 40.8 33 42.8 2,446
Surrey 50.2 9,841 52.9 604 42.7 195 62.0 31 51.8 495 50.0 8,356
Sutton 58.1 2,719 70.3 636 54.1 224 77.5 40 59.7 238 52.6 1,519
Swindon 43.9 2,029 44.3 238 42.0 40 57.5 2 40.9 92 44.1 1,605
Tameside 43.9 2,512 48.3 302 41.1 42 61.7 7 43.3 88 43.4 2,053
Telford and Wrekin 45.4 1,934 49.6 127 46.2 51 62.7 11 43.7 80 44.9 1,654
Thurrock 42.9 1,634 50.6 71 49.7 162 71.9 12 46.2 70 41.3 1,271
Torbay 48.2 1,409 66.8 18 60.8 3 67.7 7 56.2 33 48.2 1,267
Tower Hamlets 46.8 2,721 49.7 1,865 44.4 302 70.8 4 39.3 111 38.9 299
Trafford 56.8 2,850 61.7 377 52.8 95 74.2 41 52.6 185 55.9 2,079
Wakefield 43.5 3,406 43.5 125 44.3 46 65.6 10 46.9 79 43.4 3,123
Walsall 43.8 3,233 48.9 716 44.1 160 66.5 4 43.5 180 42.0 2,142
Waltham Forest 46.1 2,484 48.7 743 42.1 546 71.0 13 46.7 237 46.0 840
Wandsworth 50.8 1,707 51.8 334 45.5 475 71.7 7 53.6 224 53.3 565
Warrington 47.2 2,365 53.6 51 38.3 14 63.6 10 52.5 68 47.0 2,184
Warwickshire 49.4 5,466 59.7 293 52.1 41 72.4 18 50.4 205 48.8 4,809
West Berkshire 48.5 1,741 52.3 48 44.4 29 54.8 3 44.4 68 49.2 1,562
West Sussex 46.6 7,578 52.2 330 41.4 115 57.1 22 45.8 286 46.4 6,736
Westminster 52.9 1,495 53.8 216 49.3 353 72.5 15 51.6 133 58.1 371
Wigan 45.3 3,221 52.2 29 44.3 32 66.6 8 44.9 55 45.2 3,070
Wiltshire 48.3 4,631 54.8 56 44.2 45 67.5 12 53.0 121 48.2 4,241
Windsor and Maidenhead 51.5 1,489 48.9 192 48.1 31 64.9 5 53.3 121 51.9 1,090
Wirral 48.8 3,237 65.5 59 43.3 6 63.4 16 57.4 85 48.1 3,035
Wokingham 52.3 1,636 52.8 185 48.7 57 58.1 14 50.1 89 52.6 1,253
Wolverhampton 44.4 2,612 51.4 578 42.6 266 52.3 7 40.6 269 42.8 1,454
Worcestershire 46.5 5,273 47.3 196 41.5 24 60.8 13 47.6 167 46.5 4,830
York 49.7 1,620 52.0 28 47.4 11 63.5 3 55.3 40 49.5 1,521

* Not applicable

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Summary of GCSE results (‘Attainment 8’) By ethnicity and area Summary

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

This data shows that:

  • in 2017/18, pupils in Sutton had the highest average Attainment 8 score of 58.1 and those in Blackpool had the lowest with 38.5
  • among White pupils, the highest average score (55.9) was in Trafford, and the lowest was in Sandwell (38.7)

5. By ethnicity and gender

Location:
England
Time period:
2017/18
Source:
Key stage 4 and multi-academy trust performance 2018
Average Attainment 8 score by ethnicity and gender
All Boys Girls
Ethnicity All Score All Pupils Boys Score Boys Pupils Girls Score Girls Pupils
All 46.5 523,626 43.8 266,906 49.3 256,720
Asian 50.4 55,737 48.0 28,532 53.0 27,205
Bangladeshi 49.6 9,384 47.3 4,620 51.9 4,764
Indian 56.3 14,575 54.1 7,452 58.6 7,123
Pakistani 45.7 22,840 43.2 11,636 48.3 11,204
Asian other 53.6 8,938 50.6 4,824 57.1 4,114
Black 45.0 28,949 41.4 14,334 48.6 14,615
Black African 47.5 18,358 44.0 9,143 51.0 9,215
Black Caribbean 39.6 6,933 35.5 3,355 43.4 3,578
Black other 43.0 3,658 39.0 1,836 47.0 1,822
Chinese 64.2 1,875 61.9 903 66.3 972
Mixed 47.3 24,646 44.5 12,447 50.1 12,199
Mixed White/Asian 52.5 5,537 50.7 2,793 54.3 2,744
Mixed White/Black African 46.5 2,936 43.0 1,474 50.0 1,462
Mixed White/Black Caribbean 41.3 7,093 38.0 3,550 44.5 3,543
Mixed other 49.1 9,080 46.3 4,630 52.0 4,450
White 46.1 396,680 43.4 202,483 48.8 194,197
White British 46.1 367,680 43.4 187,806 48.9 179,874
White Irish 52.2 1,646 50.1 832 54.3 814
Gypsy/Roma 18.2 1,107 15.4 517 20.5 590
Irish Traveller 21.9 111 17.9 55 25.8 56
White other 47.0 26,136 44.2 13,273 49.8 12,863
Other 47.2 8,573 44.3 4,462 50.2 4,111
Unknown 40.0 7,166 37.1 3,745 43.3 3,421

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

This data shows that:

  • in 2017/18, the average Attainment 8 score was 49.3 for girls, and 43.8 for boys
  • in every ethnic group, girls had a higher average Attainment 8 score than boys
  • girls from the Chinese ethnic group had the highest average score, at 66.3
  • boys from the White Gypsy/Roma ethnic group had the lowest average score, at 15.4
  • the smallest gap between girls and boys was in the Mixed White and Asian ethnic group, where girls scored 3.6 points more than boys on average
  • the biggest gap between girls and boys was in the Other Black ethnic group, where girls scored 8.0 more points than boys on average

6. By ethnicity, gender and eligibility for free school meals

Location:
England
Time period:
2017/18
Source:
Key stage 4 and multi-academy trust performance 2018
Average Attainment 8 score by ethnicity, gender and eligibility for free school meals
Boys: free school meals Boys: no free school meals Girls: free school meals Girls: no free school meals
Ethnicity Boys: free school meals Score Boys: free school meals Pupils Boys: no free school meals Score Boys: no free school meals Pupils Girls: free school meals Score Girls: free school meals Pupils Girls: no free school meals Score Girls: no free school meals Pupils
All 31.2 33,697 45.6 233,209 37.7 32,668 51.0 224,052
Asian 40.2 4,331 49.4 24,201 45.7 4,279 54.3 22,926
Bangladeshi 42.8 1,093 48.7 3,527 47.5 1,163 53.3 3,601
Indian 44.3 457 54.8 6,995 48.6 500 59.3 6,623
Pakistani 38.1 2,225 44.4 9,411 43.6 2,139 49.5 9,065
Asian other 40.2 556 52.0 4,268 47.3 477 58.3 3,637
Black 34.5 2,880 43.1 11,454 43.0 3,032 50.1 11,583
Black African 37.7 1,774 45.5 7,369 45.8 1,865 52.3 7,350
Black Caribbean 28.1 734 37.6 2,621 37.3 797 45.2 2,781
Black other 31.5 372 40.9 1,464 41.4 370 48.4 1,452
Chinese 52.9 44 62.3 859 60.8 63 66.7 909
Mixed 33.3 2,213 47.0 10,234 40.0 2,183 52.3 10,016
Mixed White/Asian 35.9 357 52.8 2,436 41.3 352 56.3 2,392
Mixed White/Black African 35.4 286 44.8 1,188 42.3 272 51.7 1,190
Mixed White/Black Caribbean 29.8 811 40.5 2,739 37.0 803 46.8 2,740
Mixed other 35.1 759 48.5 3,871 41.7 756 54.1 3,694
White 28.5 22,720 45.3 179,763 34.8 21,607 50.6 172,590
White British 28.2 21,285 45.3 166,521 34.5 20,172 50.7 159,702
White Irish 28.9 93 52.8 739 41.4 95 56.0 719
Gypsy/Roma 14.2 170 16.0 347 19.2 174 21.1 416
Irish Traveller 14.0 32 23.3 23 21.7 35 32.6 21
White other 37.1 1,140 44.9 12,133 42.4 1,131 50.6 11,732
Other 40.3 1,000 45.5 3,462 45.3 980 51.8 3,131
Unknown 30.0 509 38.2 3,236 35.7 524 44.6 2,897

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

Eligibility for free school meals (FSM) is used as an indicator of deprivation by the Department for Education.

The data shows that:

  • within the 6 broad ethnic groups, FSM-eligible girls from the Chinese ethnic group had the highest average Attainment 8 score (60.8) out of all FSM-eligible pupils, and FSM-eligible White boys had the lowest (28.5)
  • among the 18 specific ethnic groups, FSM-eligible Traveller of Irish Heritage boys had the lowest average score (14.0) and Chinese girls who were not eligible for FSM had the highest average score (66.7)
  • the biggest gap between FSM-eligible boys and girls was in the White Irish ethnic group, where girls scored 12.5 higher than boys on average
  • the biggest gap between FSM-eligible and non-FSM boys was in the White Irish group (23.9), and the biggest gap between FSM-eligible and non-FSM girls was in the White British group (16.2)
  • the smallest gaps were found between FSM-eligible and non-FSM Gypsy/Roma (1.8 boys, 1.9 girls)
  • in 2017/18, girls eligible for free school meals scored an average of 6.5 points more in Attainment 8 than boys eligible for FSM
  • the gap between boys and girls not eligible for FSM was slightly smaller, with girls scoring 5.4 more points than boys on average

7. By ethnicity, gender and area

Location:
England
Time period:
2017/18
Source:
Key stage 4 and multi-academy trust performance 2018
Average Attainment 8 score by ethnicity, gender and area
All Asian Black Chinese Mixed White
Geography 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 - England 46.6 43.9 49.4 50.7 48.3 53.1 45.3 41.7 48.8 64.5 62.3 66.5 47.4 44.7 50.2 46.1 43.5 48.9
Barking and Dagenham 46.1 43.3 49.1 53.9 50.4 57.5 47.1 43.1 51.4 79.3 N/A* 79.3 42.4 36.8 46.9 41.9 40.6 43.4
Barnet 56.0 53.1 59.1 67.8 68.1 67.5 47.1 42.7 52.1 72.0 68.5 75.0 55.0 51.3 58.8 55.4 52.1 58.8
Barnsley 42.5 39.2 45.8 51.8 39.8 63.9 36.8 30.0 45.8 N/A* N/A* N/A* 47.6 45.8 49.2 42.4 39.2 45.6
Bath and North East Somerset 48.7 45.0 52.4 57.0 53.9 59.3 40.8 39.0 42.6 72.0 60.5 79.7 48.9 47.2 50.4 49.0 45.0 52.9
Bedford 45.8 43.5 48.4 45.1 43.0 47.5 47.7 47.6 47.8 64.5 64.5 N/A* 41.7 37.8 46.8 46.3 44.0 48.8
Bexley 49.6 46.9 52.3 58.6 57.5 59.9 54.8 49.5 59.3 66.0 59.8 71.2 48.4 46.2 50.5 46.7 44.7 48.7
Birmingham 45.8 42.9 48.8 46.9 45.0 48.8 43.3 39.6 47.3 75.0 75.9 74.0 45.1 42.1 48.2 45.8 42.3 49.6
Blackburn with Darwen 45.8 43.4 48.3 49.7 46.7 52.9 35.6 36.0 35.0 65.3 N/A* 65.3 41.6 35.3 47.0 42.5 40.8 44.2
Blackpool 38.5 35.8 41.5 47.3 43.2 52.2 37.4 39.0 35.0 60.5 59.0 63.5 43.8 39.8 47.5 38.1 35.5 41.1
Bolton 44.6 41.4 48.0 50.3 46.2 54.8 44.0 39.5 48.5 61.6 N/A* 61.6 41.3 39.6 43.0 43.1 40.3 46.2
Bournemouth 50.0 46.4 53.6 56.9 52.8 62.1 47.1 49.5 45.4 70.6 66.2 74.0 50.3 49.7 51.2 49.7 45.8 53.5
Bracknell Forest 48.1 46.3 49.9 54.1 58.0 49.9 47.3 37.6 54.6 57.0 N/A* 57.0 49.3 51.7 45.9 47.7 45.4 49.9
Bradford 42.7 40.2 45.3 44.3 42.0 46.7 38.7 36.6 40.7 58.8 73.0 51.8 39.5 38.9 40.2 41.8 39.0 44.9
Brent 49.9 47.7 52.2 52.0 49.7 54.5 44.5 40.7 47.9 62.2 62.2 N/A* 49.7 45.5 54.8 47.4 45.6 49.6
Brighton and Hove 48.0 45.8 50.3 51.2 51.1 51.2 42.1 39.8 43.9 57.7 55.0 60.0 48.4 43.8 53.2 48.0 45.9 50.1
Bristol, City of 45.5 41.9 49.0 48.0 43.9 52.2 40.6 38.4 42.8 61.7 60.8 62.0 45.7 43.0 48.3 46.0 42.2 49.6
Bromley 50.3 46.6 53.9 68.7 69.3 68.3 51.0 46.5 54.4 74.7 74.2 75.1 51.2 50.0 52.2 49.6 46.2 53.4
Buckinghamshire 55.0 53.2 57.0 56.2 55.3 57.3 53.1 49.2 56.8 64.2 60.4 66.6 54.6 56.0 53.1 54.7 52.5 57.1
Bury 45.2 43.4 47.0 46.9 45.3 48.6 40.0 40.6 38.9 56.2 59.4 53.0 42.0 40.3 44.0 45.0 43.1 47.0
Calderdale 49.4 46.5 52.4 48.2 44.6 52.1 48.3 44.7 50.9 64.1 60.8 74.0 49.6 49.3 49.9 49.7 46.7 52.6
Cambridgeshire 48.0 45.4 50.7 53.0 51.8 54.2 42.5 41.5 43.5 65.5 72.0 59.0 53.4 52.1 54.8 48.0 45.2 50.9
Camden 48.0 42.0 52.4 46.6 42.9 50.0 44.2 37.9 48.4 53.1 37.0 66.6 46.7 39.9 50.8 51.0 43.7 56.2
Central Bedfordshire 45.2 42.4 48.0 47.0 43.9 50.3 45.9 44.1 47.2 57.4 42.1 69.7 42.7 38.1 46.8 45.2 42.6 47.9
Cheshire East 48.8 46.2 51.4 50.7 47.0 54.5 44.0 31.2 56.8 71.3 70.8 71.9 47.5 43.0 54.0 48.8 46.3 51.3
Cheshire West and Chester 46.4 44.0 48.9 50.7 50.1 51.9 46.0 34.3 57.7 54.4 49.6 61.5 48.1 46.6 49.5 46.3 44.0 48.7
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 45.1 42.5 47.8 50.7 54.1 46.4 56.0 59.0 54.0 36.4 27.3 40.9 46.1 42.5 50.6 45.1 42.5 47.8
County Durham 45.0 42.2 47.9 53.6 52.8 55.6 54.4 52.7 58.8 70.1 76.8 56.8 50.7 50.7 50.6 45.2 42.4 48.1
Coventry 43.3 40.7 45.9 49.2 47.0 51.5 43.9 40.9 47.2 58.1 59.2 56.0 40.7 37.2 44.4 41.4 39.0 43.9
Croydon 45.8 42.4 49.0 51.4 48.4 54.5 43.5 39.7 47.0 68.3 73.6 63.8 46.5 43.1 49.4 46.9 43.9 49.5
Cumbria 46.7 44.3 49.2 59.0 56.7 61.0 49.9 53.1 29.0 69.2 71.3 66.0 49.9 48.6 51.0 46.6 44.2 49.2
Darlington 45.8 43.4 48.6 49.3 47.7 50.2 50.6 37.3 59.5 52.5 44.5 55.2 50.9 51.0 50.7 45.5 43.0 48.4
Derby 43.2 40.8 45.8 48.0 46.5 49.4 42.8 38.1 47.2 57.4 60.2 51.9 40.9 36.1 49.0 42.3 40.0 44.7
Derbyshire 45.6 42.9 48.4 51.1 48.9 54.3 45.4 44.5 46.8 63.7 61.0 66.3 46.3 44.4 48.1 45.5 42.7 48.3
Devon 45.8 42.9 49.0 51.4 51.7 51.2 37.6 21.5 48.3 60.5 70.8 54.1 45.9 44.3 47.8 45.8 43.0 49.0
Doncaster 42.7 40.3 45.3 47.5 46.2 49.1 43.8 41.1 46.7 42.8 24.0 55.3 46.1 41.5 53.2 42.4 39.9 45.1
Dorset 47.4 45.0 50.1 59.4 61.7 56.3 45.9 43.4 49.3 62.7 55.5 65.1 51.7 50.1 54.9 47.2 44.7 49.9
Dudley 43.4 40.2 46.8 46.5 42.5 50.3 42.0 40.3 44.4 64.1 72.8 55.5 43.8 41.7 46.1 43.2 40.1 46.5
Ealing 50.0 47.2 52.6 51.8 49.9 53.5 44.3 40.9 47.7 72.5 72.8 72.0 50.0 45.2 54.4 51.8 49.3 54.3
East Riding of Yorkshire 48.1 45.3 50.9 64.0 62.2 68.5 27.7 27.7 N/A* 56.7 56.7 N/A* 53.6 52.0 55.5 47.9 45.1 50.7
East Sussex 45.2 42.1 48.6 54.2 53.1 54.9 46.1 48.0 43.1 59.6 61.0 59.2 48.1 43.5 51.7 45.0 41.9 48.3
Enfield 46.3 43.2 49.5 57.8 54.0 62.0 43.9 40.4 47.5 76.1 69.8 81.7 48.1 44.7 51.9 44.7 42.1 47.5
Essex 46.1 43.2 49.0 62.4 62.0 62.9 50.6 45.2 55.1 64.6 58.9 70.1 48.0 46.2 49.9 45.3 42.4 48.3
Gateshead 46.2 43.5 48.9 52.5 49.4 60.0 46.2 41.0 52.0 65.7 85.5 60.8 51.2 44.9 54.6 45.8 43.2 48.4
Gloucestershire 49.6 46.9 52.3 56.4 54.6 58.7 44.3 38.9 49.6 55.7 46.8 65.9 50.1 47.0 53.1 49.4 46.8 52.1
Greenwich 44.5 42.0 47.1 47.4 46.0 48.9 45.0 40.5 49.5 57.3 56.4 58.8 45.3 41.0 50.1 43.3 42.1 44.5
Hackney 49.0 45.3 51.9 50.7 47.1 53.8 45.1 40.6 48.3 56.0 39.8 69.0 46.7 45.7 47.6 53.1 48.8 56.6
Halton 44.2 42.1 46.5 38.8 29.5 48.0 N/A* N/A* N/A* 47.5 N/A* 47.5 51.4 50.7 52.3 44.0 41.8 46.2
Hammersmith and Fulham 52.9 48.9 56.7 50.8 48.1 54.1 46.6 44.0 49.0 60.4 60.1 60.8 51.7 43.8 58.3 57.3 53.0 61.6
Hampshire 47.2 44.5 50.0 51.8 48.3 55.8 45.7 43.0 48.6 54.9 55.4 54.4 49.5 46.1 52.9 47.0 44.3 49.8
Haringey 46.3 43.5 49.1 50.7 47.1 54.1 39.4 35.7 43.5 63.5 60.9 66.9 47.2 42.3 51.8 49.4 48.1 50.7
Harrow 50.7 47.7 53.4 55.2 52.5 57.9 45.6 39.6 50.4 52.9 44.5 61.3 51.8 50.2 53.4 46.2 43.4 48.8
Hartlepool 42.3 38.0 46.5 52.1 48.5 56.0 38.6 N/A* 38.6 45.5 N/A* 45.5 45.6 38.4 53.8 42.0 37.8 46.3
Havering 46.9 45.0 48.9 52.6 53.5 51.7 50.1 47.4 52.6 71.1 76.5 68.9 48.0 49.1 46.6 45.7 43.5 48.0
Herefordshire, County of 45.9 43.2 48.8 58.8 53.8 60.8 32.0 30.0 36.0 62.3 62.3 N/A* 47.7 53.1 44.8 45.9 43.2 48.9
Hertfordshire 51.5 49.0 54.1 59.4 56.3 62.9 49.1 46.6 51.4 67.9 62.1 72.3 52.2 51.2