THE North fared marginally better than the rest of the country on GCSE results day as it saw the smallest dip in the number of pupils achieving the coveted top grades.

Official figures showed that across England, Wales and Northern Ireland there were fewer A* and A grades awarded and whilst many regions fell by a full percentage point, the region saw a fall of just 0.3 per cent.

The region did though echo nationwide figures which showed just over two-thirds of entries were awarded A* to C grades, a 2.1 per cent drop on last year and the biggest fall since GCSEs were created in 1988.

Education leaders are blaming the statistics on the tens of thousands of extra entries in English and maths by pupils having to re-sit those subjects after the coalition government insisted students who didn’t make the grade at 16 had to retake their exams until they got a C in both subjects.

Mike Parker, director of SCHOOLS North East, said: “Nationally, schools were expecting mixed results and this year’s GCSEs are a reflection of the impact that ‘one-size-fits-all’ government policies can have on education.”

His views were shared by Martin Doel, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, who said whilst all young people do need a good standard of literacy and numeracy not everyone can get a grade C.

He said: “The English and maths challenge is compounded by the fact that colleges may be supporting students who are demoralised and disheartened after failing to achieve the necessary grades after 11 years in school.

“The Government must consider creating a qualification that is more fit-for-purpose in developing English and maths skills that complement technical and professional studies, motivate students and meet the needs of employers.”

Next summer reformed English language, literature and maths courses will be marked numerically, with a nine for the top students and one for those struggling. The same system will be used for another 17 subjects by summer 2018.

Girls continued to outperform boys across all subjects at A* to C by 8.9 per cent, the highest gap since 2002, yet across the North there were plenty of boys and girls celebrating an incredible set of results.

A bigger divide was evident between pupils from different social backgrounds.

Jonathan Townsend, North of England Director at The Prince’s Trust, said: “Sadly, it’s still the case that social grade influences educational attainment. "Just 33 per cent of young people eligible for free school meals leave school with five A* to C grade GCSEs, compared with 61 per cent of young people who aren’t eligible.”

He said young people whose grades were not what they hoped need to know there are other routes to future employment and the Trust’s new education programme, Achieve, aims to re-engage young people with education and raise aspirations.

Teachers’ unions said the results highlighted an ‘alarming drop’ in pupils taking foreign languages - with half as many taking French than 20 years ago - and creative subjects such as dance, art and music.

Kevin Courtney, general secretary of the NUT, called for recruitment of more teachers with the right skills to lead those subjects so they remain sustainable for schools.

But Professor Adrian Sutton, deputy chairman of the Royal Society’s education committee, praised students taking maths, science and computing, which continues to grow in popularity.