* The number of pupils leaving school at 16 with no recognised qualifications has dropped by more than 30 per cent over the past five years.
Schools Standards Minister Estelle Morris said, in reply to a Commons question, that 3,305 16-year-olds finished school with no GCSE or GNVQ equivalent passes in 1999-2000 compared with 46,606 in 94-95.
Key skills are made up of exams students can sit in January, June or November, and portfolio work.
