Data published by the Department for Education.

The government records and publishes the percentage of pupils at Key Stage 4 achieving five or more GCSE grade A-C including Maths and English. This is a robust and widely understood measure of the qualifications of school leavers each year.

The more pupils that achieve at least five GCSEs the more opportunities they are likely to have. If the county is to develop sustainably we expect more and more young people will need to be qualified