JUST four out of every 10 Blaenau Gwent GCSE pupils gained five A* to C grades last year, including English or Welsh and maths, the joint lowest amount of all Welsh councils.

GCSE results were up across Wales in 2012-13, according to statistics published by the Welsh Government yesterday, but Blaenau Gwent had the joint lowest number of pupils getting five A* to C grades including English or Welsh and maths along with Merthyr Tydfil.

Half of the 1,405 15-year-olds in Torfaen gained five A*-C grades including English or Welsh and maths, compared to 51.3 per cent of 1,787 pupils in Newport, 57.3 per cent of 918 pupils in Monmouthshire, 46.3 per cent of 2,280 pupils in Caerphilly and just 38.7 per cent of 729 pupils in Blaenau Gwent.

Across Wales in 2012-13, the average was 52.7 per cent of pupils gaining five A*-C grades including English or Welsh and maths, 1.6 per cent higher than 2011-12 and 8.3 per cent higher .

The statistics include independent schools, pupils from a non-English or Welsh education background, and all qualifications approved for pre-16 use in Wales.

Across Wales the number of pupils achieving at least five A*-C grades increased 5.2 per cent to 77.8 per cent this year, with 64 per cent achieving A*-C in English or Welsh, 0.6 per cent higher than last year, and 60.3 per cent getting A*-C in maths, two per cent higher than last year.

A-Level performance in Gwent was much better, with 96.2 per cent of 525 Caerphilly A-Level students who entered the equivalent of two-A-Levels achieving a pass mark, compared to 98.6 per cent of 140 students in Blaenau Gwent, 95.7 per cent of 391 pupils in Torfaen, 94.7 per cent in Monmouthshire and 95.5 per cent of 731 pupils in Newport.

The Welsh average was 96.9 per cent for 2012-13 and the most popular A-Level subject was maths, with 2,734 entries across Wales.