BOLTON’S overall performance in this summer’s GCSE exams was behind the national and regional averages — but there were some outstanding individual school successes — figures show.

The Department for Education (DfE) statistics show how well teenagers in Bolton and the rest of the country performed in the Year 11 exams. This year’s GCSE pupils were the first to have their exams marked under the grading system of 9 to 1 in English and maths, with nine being the highest mark and four being equivalent to C-grade.

In Bolton 61 per cent of pupils achieved at least a 4 in their English and maths. The North West average was 62 per cent and the England average was 63.5 per cent. And 38.4 per cent achieved the higher 9-5 grades in English and maths. The North West average was 39.9 per cent and in England it was 42.4 per cent. This placed Bolton fifth out of the ten Greater Manchester local authorities.

The DfE has only listed the 9-5 grades for individual schools in the provisional tables it has released. Individual school results are subject to change as papers are remarked.

In the new tables the Government has scrapped the five or more A* to C including maths and English measure and replaced it with the numbers of pupils passing their English and maths, and gaining the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) — which covers English, maths, science and humanities and languages. In Bolton 18.8 per cent of pupils achieved the EBacc, with maths and English at 9-4, compared to 21.4 per cent per cent in the North West and 23.7 per cent nationally. A Bolton Council spokesman said: “These are still provisional results but we’d like to echo our congratulations to pupils who took their GCSE exams this year. Schools dealt with a new examination system this year which means results are not directly comparable to previous years.

“However, with 61 per cent of students achieving Grade 4 or above in English and maths we are very close to the national average and many of our schools made significant improvements in these subjects.”

Bolton Muslim Girls School, was the best performing school in Bolton according the tables with 64 per cent getting the 9-5 high marks in English and maths. The progress its pupils made in high school was ‘well above average’. It had the highest EBacc marks.

Idrish Patel, headteacher, said: “Despite a long summer of press speculation about the reformed GCSEs in English and maths the girls at BMGS produced a strong performance of which we are immensely proud.

“We are in the middle of an unprecedented change in GCSE subject matter and assessment which has been a huge challenge to staff and students. These results are richly deserved.

“Our students, staff, parents and governors have worked with great determination and focus in order to achieve these outcomes. Some of the individual student performances are staggering in terms of the number of optimum grades attained. Nineteen of our students gained grade 9 in English language and English literature combined — a phenomenal personal achievement.

“While acknowledging the enormous achievements of the most able is very important, what gives me the greatest pleasure is the consistent progress that many of our students make, irrespective of their ability or starting point.”