GCSE pupils urged to stay on at school

The government last night admitted it was still worried by the high school drop-out rate, urging the thousands of youngsters who will receive their GCSE results today to continue their education by staying at school or college.

Today's results, to be received by 600,000 16-year-olds in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, are expected to show a further increase in the proportion of entries attracting the top grades of A* and A, which would signal growing polarisation between high and low achievers.

National trends are set to reveal a further fall in the number of youngsters taking French and German. Concern has already been expressed about the decline in the popularity of modern languages.

The schools minister, Jacqui Smith, said results day should be a stepping stone in a young person's education, not the end point. Britain still has one of the worst drop-out rates in the developed world, with more than a quarter of 15- to 19-year-olds not in any form of education or training.

"The decisions that young people make over the coming days and weeks will shape the rest of their lives," she said. "They should know that many doors are still open to them, regardless of their results."

The difficulty of stretching the brightest pupils will be underlined by the strings of top grades achieved by many youngsters. Two-thirds of the pupils at the independent school Brighton college achieved A* and A grades in all subjects, with two achieving 10 A* and one A grade.

Some private school heads have warned that they may scrap GCSEs and encourage their brightest pupils to go straight to AS, the first year of A-levels. But the head of Brighton college, Anthony Seldon, defended the GCSE: "It is a far from flawed exam, with grading rigorous enough to distinguish between the very good and the average."

Some state comprehensive schools in inner-city areas will register huge improvements, among them Phoenix high school in White City, west London, where the proportion of students getting five or more GCSEs at the top grades of A*-C is understood to have risen to 60% from 28% last year.

· National exams helpline, 0800 100 0800 (partnership between DfES, Radio 1 and Ucas)