CONTROVERSY has continued over the Government’s new English Baccalaureate (EBacc) measure of GCSE success.

Ministers believe the EBacc – which is awarded to pupils who achieve A* to C grades in English, maths, science, a language and either history or geography – will show up schools offering so-called ‘soft’ subjects to bolster their league table rankings.

Most private schools have not given out results of how many pupils achieved the baccalaureate grades, while state school heads have criticised its value.

Matthew Arnold deputy head Robert Shadbolt said: “The students getting their results made their choices two years ago, when the English Baccalaureate did not even exist, so they could not choose their subjects with that in mind.”

King Alfred’s School in Wantage, has refused to give out EBacc statistics.

Meanwhile, Catholic and other faith schools have protested that religious education is not included as one of the EBacc’s humanities subject.

Staff at Blessed George Napier Catholic School, in Banbury, pointed out 31 per cent rather than 17 per cent of its students would have got the EBacc had the subject been included.

Association of Teachers and Lecturers general secretary Dr Mary Bousted warned the emphasis on traditional subjects could be “demotivating and alienating” for teenagers.