Record year for GCSE pass rate

But the figures also showed fewer are studying modern foreign languages with the number of 16-year-olds taking French and German plummeting below 300,000.

GCSE pass rates continued to rise with 63.3 per cent achieving A*-C grades – igniting the annual row over exam standards. Last year, 62 per cent of students gained A*-C grades.

Overall results showed a 0.4 per cent increase at grades A*-A from 19.1 per cent in 2006 to 19.5 per cent.

However, the percentage of students attaining GCSE grades A*-G fell by 0.1 per cent from 98.1 per cent to 98 per cent, but experts insisted this did not indicate standards are falling.

There was good news for employers who have complained teenagers are leaving school without knowledge of the basics, with more young people getting higher grades at Maths and English.

Girls continue to outstrip boys, as they do at A-level, but the gap between the two narrowed by 0.2 per cent at A*-A, 0.6 per cent at A*-C and 0.1 per cent at A*-G.

The largest falls in entries were in modern foreign languages which experts put down to a failure by the employment market to encourage teenagers to take-up a foreign language.

It was suggested a marked increase in the up-take of Spanish at GCSE was because of Spain being the top holiday destination of most families. Other subjects in decline were history and Information and Communication Technology.

There was a shift in performance among the different types of schools and colleges with comprehensives showing significant improvements. One surprising factor was a boost in the popularity of religious studies with 292,491 students sitting the exam.

Jim Sinclair, director of the Joint Council for Qualifications, which released the national results, said: "The improvement in the GCSE results this year is testament both to effective teaching and the dedication and hard work of students."

* Now we want to know how you got on.

Did you get what you were expecting? Were your results better than you'd hoped for or did you not get the grades you were expecting?

Whatever your results we want you to tell us how your performed.

Simply tell us by filling in the form below and we'll publish them on the site and some will appear in the Express & Star. Tell us your name, where you're from and which school you go to.

So, good news or bad – share it with the world.