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Despite exams being toughened up this year, in Peterborough 69.1 per cent of pupils achieved at least a grade 4 (the equivalent of an old C grade) in English, with 51.8 per cent achieving at least a grade 5 (a good pass).

In maths, 63.9 pupils of pupils achieved a grade 4 or above, with 43.1 per cent achieving at least a grade 5.

Last year 70.1 per cent of pupils passed English and 62 per cent achieved a pass in maths.

Pupils at The King's School celebrate their results

The proportion of pupils achieving a grade 4 or above in both English and maths in Peterborough was 57.1 per cent this year (compared to 55.7 per cent last year) with 36.4 per cent achieving a grade 5 or better.

Peterborough City Council said national outcomes are not yet available as a comparison.

More than 2,200 pupils sat the exams in schools across Peterborough this year with City of Peterborough Academy and the Greater Peterborough UTC (a free school and a University Technical College) returning GCSE results for the first time.

The council said: “When comparing outcomes in those schools who also had results last year, it is encouraging to note an improvement of 0.5 per cent in English outcomes to 70.6 per cent, an improvement of 3.3 per cent in mathematics outcomes to 65.3 per cent and of 3 per cent in outcomes for English and mathematics combined to 58.7 per cent.”

Cllr Lynne Ayres, council cabinet member for education, said: “First of all I would like to say a big well done to every young person across Peterborough who has collected their exam results - for many it will be a welcome culmination of many months of hard work.

“I would also like to thank teachers, leaders and governors for their hard work and support.

“GCSEs are an important part of a young person’s education and I’d like to wish all students the very best for the future as they look ahead and make decisions about their next steps.

“At a time when the exams are getting harder and it is more difficult to achieve higher grades, this is a good achievement by Peterborough schools.

“Until we have received results from all other local authorities in October 2018 it is not possible to speculate as to how these results compare or what Peterborough’s national ranking will be.”

Higher percentage of Peterborough pupils pass both English and maths GCSEs