STUDENTS in Worcestershire achieved slightly below the national average when it came to getting top marks in their GCSEs this year.

According to figures out yesterday 62.2 per cent of pupils in the county achieved five GCSEs at A* to C grades, compared to a national average of 64.2 per cent.

However, 91.3 per cent of students achieved five A* to G grades, including maths and English, which was above the national average of 86.4 per cent.

Labour MP for Worcester Mike Foster said schools should always look to improve performance but parents, teachers and pupils should be more concerned about the value added results.

These look at the individual’s key stage 2 score and compares it to GCSE results to see what improvements have been made.

“It is far better to look at what they came in with and what they left with, that is the true measure of performance,” Mr Foster said.

He added there has been a steady improvement in performance over the last 11 years which was not down to exams getting easier.

“It is because of the work of the teachers and the students and the additional investment that has gone in to employing more teachers, more teaching assistants and paying teachers better salaries,” he said.