Rise in proportion of NI students achieving A*-C grades

More students in Northern Ireland have achieved grades A*-C this year.

The proportion has risen by 0.7 percentage points to 81.1%.

The number of entries achieving the A* grade is 9.9%, a small increase of 0.4 percentage points on the previous year, official results data showed.

The total of GCSE entries in Northern Ireland has decreased by 0.4% from 171,060 to 170,348.

There has been a slight improvement in GCSE English language and mathematics.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects account for 43% of all GCSE entries in Northern Ireland, with an increase of 2.4% on the previous year.

Justin Edwards, chief executive of the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA), said: “There are some patterns worth further analysis, such as the continued widening of the performance gap at A*-C grades between males and females.”

The proportion of girls achieving A*-C grades increased to 85.1%, by 0.9 percentage points.

The proportion of entries by boys achieving A*-C grades rose by 0.5 percentage points to 76.9%.

The gap between girls and boys at A*-C grades has widened from 7.8 to 8.2 percentage points.

Mr Edwards added: “Subject choices remain stable with over 40% of students here now studying a STEM qualification. There were positive increases in further mathematics entries.”