BRADFORD Council's education bosses admit there is "a lot of work to do" to improve the district's education after the number of GCSE pupils getting five C grades or above fell to its lowest level since 2007.

National GCSE statistics were released by the Department for Education today, and show that in Bradford only 54.4 per cent of pupils sitting their exams last year gained at least five C grades.

Last year that figure was 83.4 per cent, and the last time the figure was so low was in 2006, when 52.1 per cent of pupils got five Cs or above.

The English average was 63.2 per cent, with the Yorkshire average being 62.2 per cent.

However, the low figure compared to previous years represents a national trend. Across England the percentage of students meeting the target fell 18.6 per cent in a single year, and in Yorkshire there was a fall of 22.5 per cent.

When including English and maths in those five grades of C or above, the figure falls to 43.4 per cent in Bradford - the lowest in Yorkshire and the fourth lowest in England. The nationwide average is 52.6 per cent - more than nine per cent higher than in Bradford.

One of the goals of the Council's recently announced education improvement plan was to close the gap between the district and the national average in this category to three per cent by 2015, and to exceed the national average by 2016.

Over the summer almost 5,800 pupils in the district sat GCSE or equivalent level exams.

Michael Jameson, Bradford's strategic director of children’s services, said: “We have a ‘no excuses’ culture and we are taking urgent and practical action to rapidly drive up standards.

“We have just launched our new education improvement strategy, which has been praised for the scale of its ambition.

“But clearly there is a lot of work to do – what is important now is that we are working together with schools to do everything in our powers in order that they deliver real improvements and at a rapid pace.”

Councillor Ralph Berry, executive member for children’s services, said: “Clearly at GCSE level we fully accept the challenges we face and we are tackling them head on.

“The fact that Bradford’s results have improved at Key Stage 5 this year when results have fallen nationally shows that we can not only aim high but actually deliver significant improvements.

“Our new strategy is deliberately ambitious with a focus on dramatic and rapid improvements across the board. We are pushing harder than ever with our schools to drive up standards, so that our numerous success stories behind the headline figures are replicated throughout the district.”