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| Thousands miss chance of new English Bacc | Thousands miss chance of new English Bacc |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Thousands of teenagers in England had no chance of getting the new English Baccalaureate in their GCSEs, official data shows. | Thousands of teenagers in England had no chance of getting the new English Baccalaureate in their GCSEs, official data shows. |
| At 175 state schools, not one pupil was entered for all five of the subjects counted in the new measure. | At 175 state schools, not one pupil was entered for all five of the subjects counted in the new measure. |
| Education Secretary Michael Gove says the Bacc is an "aspirational measure" which will drive up standards. | Education Secretary Michael Gove says the Bacc is an "aspirational measure" which will drive up standards. |
| But head teachers complain it was brought in after pupils sat their GCSEs last year. | But head teachers complain it was brought in after pupils sat their GCSEs last year. |
| The government has just published additional league tables data which allows parents to see how individual schools are doing on all 84 GCSE subjects. | The government has just published additional league tables data which allows parents to see how individual schools are doing on all 84 GCSE subjects. |
| This is an update to the secondary school league tables released in January. | This is an update to the secondary school league tables released in January. |
| The English Bacc was brought in by the coalition government. | The English Bacc was brought in by the coalition government. |
| It is not a qualification in its own right, but is a measure of how many children get a good GCSE (A* to C grade) in English, maths, two science qualifications, a modern foreign language or classical language and either history or geography. | It is not a qualification in its own right, but is a measure of how many children get a good GCSE (A* to C grade) in English, maths, two science qualifications, a modern foreign language or classical language and either history or geography. |
| The January league tables showed that just 16% of 16-year-olds achieved the Baccalaureate last year. | The January league tables showed that just 16% of 16-year-olds achieved the Baccalaureate last year. |
| In more than half of state secondaries (1,600), fewer than 10% of pupils gained the necessary GCSEs, and 270 of England's state secondaries scored zero on this measure. | In more than half of state secondaries (1,600), fewer than 10% of pupils gained the necessary GCSEs, and 270 of England's state secondaries scored zero on this measure. |
| England is the only UK nation to publish school league tables. | England is the only UK nation to publish school league tables. |
| The new data shows that about 25,000 16-year-olds were in the 175 schools where no pupil was entered for all five of the subjects which count towards the Bacc. | The new data shows that about 25,000 16-year-olds were in the 175 schools where no pupil was entered for all five of the subjects which count towards the Bacc. |
| Of this 175 total, 44 were academies - schools which are state-funded but independently-run. | Of this 175 total, 44 were academies - schools which are state-funded but independently-run. |
| Academies were promoted under Labour as a way of turning around failing schools. | Academies were promoted under Labour as a way of turning around failing schools. |
| The coalition government is encouraging all good schools to apply for academy status. | The coalition government is encouraging all good schools to apply for academy status. |
| Transparency | Transparency |
| Mr Gove has been accused of setting "retrospective targets" for schools - but says publication of this detailed data will give parents and others information they need and "shine a light on excellence". | |
| "This is the next stage in our drive for greater transparency," he said. | "This is the next stage in our drive for greater transparency," he said. |
| "More information will allow people to identify the schools that are performing well and to interrogate schools about the choices they have made." | "More information will allow people to identify the schools that are performing well and to interrogate schools about the choices they have made." |
| At 27 schools, no pupil was entered for a language counted in the Bacc; at 42 schools none was entered for the humanities component and at 33, none was entered for the science element. | At 27 schools, no pupil was entered for a language counted in the Bacc; at 42 schools none was entered for the humanities component and at 33, none was entered for the science element. |
| Mr Gove insists the standard measure on which schools are judged - that of proportion of pupils getting five good GCSEs including English and maths will remain central to the accountability system. | Mr Gove insists the standard measure on which schools are judged - that of proportion of pupils getting five good GCSEs including English and maths will remain central to the accountability system. |
| The new data also shows the extent to which a school's league table position is influenced by points scored by pupils who took courses which were not GCSEs, but which were counted as such. These are usually vocational subjects. | |
| Mr Gove says under Labour too many pupils were pushed towards less academic courses to boost their school's league table position. | |
| Some such courses are worth up to four GCSEs. | |
| Academies | |
| National data published in January shows that, in 2009-10, in all state schools, the proportion of students gaining five good GCSE passes including English and maths drops from 55.2% to 50.5% when vocational equivalents are excluded. | |
| But the new figures show that the gap in academies is much wider - the average proportion of students gaining the GCSE benchmark is 44% when equivalent courses (non-GCSE) are included, but drops to 33% when they are excluded. | |
| Mr Gove said that as under performing schools started to turn around, they often focussed on improving English and maths and at the same time "relied" on a lot of vocational courses. But as they "stabilised", they went on to include more traditional academic subjects, he said. | |
| He also said some equivalent courses were valuable and should be included in the GCSE tables. The Department for Education intended to review the current scores attributed to different courses. | |
| English and maths have been included in the main measure since 2007 to stop schools relying so heavily on vocational qualifications. | |
| Even so, when maths and English are not included, 72.5% of students achieve five good passes when vocational courses are included, but only 50.7% do when they are not. |