GCSE results, revealed today, have climbed up the scale at the fastest rate for 20 years.

Grade A was awarded to more than a fifth of GCSEs.

GCSE results for 2008:
-750,000 teenagers collected results today, down by 6,000 from last year.
-20.7% of papers were grade A*-A, compared to 19.5% last summer.
-Grade C or above was awarded to 65.7% of papers.
-98.4% of pupils were awarded a pass mark.
-5.7 million GCSE course exams were sat this year, down 158,242 since last year.

Schools including Eton, St Paul’s, Marlborough and Winchester have refused, for the first time, to release their GCSE results.

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