Pupils scored record GCSE results today – as critics called for a radical overhaul of the exam system.

About 750,000 pupils are collecting their results, which decide whether they can stay on at school to study A-levels.

Overall, 21.6 per cent of grades were awarded an A plus or A and more than 67.1 per cent of exams were passed at grades A plus to C, up from 65.7 per cent last summer.

The overall pass rate at A plus to G rose to 98.6 per cent from 98.4 per cent last year. The national pass rate rise came despite the number of entries dipping from 5.66 million last year to 5.46million.

But there was a slip in the number of English papers being awarded at least a C, down from 62.9 per cent in 2008 to 62.7 per cent, as well as a further drop in pupils taking a foreign language.

Jim Sinclair, director of the Joint Council for Qualifications, which published the GCSE results for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, said: “This is a day of celebration for students and their teachers.

“There has been good performance overall across most subjects.”

But the Association of Teachers and Lecturers today branded the education system as “exam-obsessed.”