GCSE results in Kirklees are slightly up this year.

Early indications are that 58% of Kirklees students achieved at least five A* to C grades, including English and maths, compared with last year’s figure of 56.8%.

There has been a significant improvement in Kirklees GCSE results over the last few years. Schools here are among the best in Yorkshire and Humber, with almost nine out of ten rated as good or outstanding by Ofsted – a figure which is also above national average.

Nationally GCSE results have seen a record drop, with girls continuing to outperform boys, official figures show.

In total, just over two-thirds of entries in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (66.9%) were awarded A*-C - deemed by schools to be a “good” pass. However, this was a 2.1% point drop on the previous year, representing the biggest 12-month dip since the creation of the GCSE format in 1988.

The figures, published by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), show that the gender gap increased by 0.5% this summer, with 71.3% of girls’ entries awarded at least a C grade, compared with 62.4% of boys’. However, both were down on last year, from 73.1% and 64.7% respectively.

This is the last year in which GCSE results are scored with grades A* to G.

From next summer, pupils will take reformed courses in English language, English literature and maths, marked with numbers from 9 for the top-performing students down to 1 for those who have struggled. The changes will be rolled out across another 17 subjects by summer 2018.