NEARLY one in four teenagers is achieving the Government's flagship English Baccalaureate, six years after it was introduced.

New Government figures suggest the numbers reaching the measure, which focuses on academic qualifications, are still low and appear to be flatlining.

Overall, 23.1 per cent of teenagers scored at least a C grade in English, maths, science, history or geography and a language - the GCSEs that make up the EBacc - in 2016.

The number has been around 23 per cent for the past four years.

A breakdown reveals girls were more likely to achieve the EBacc, with 28.3 per cent getting the required grades, compared with 18.1 per cent of boys.

A total of 36.8 per cent of pupils in all schools entered the EBacc in 2016, an increase of 0.6 percentage points on the previous year.

Three schools saw every pupil achieve the English Baccalaureate. Two were converter academies - the Henrietta Barnett School in London and Chelmsford County High School for Girls - and the third was the independent Coventry campus of the Focus School.

The EBacc was introduced under then education secretary Michael Gove in 2010 as part of a bid to get more teenagers to study academic subjects. Ministers said the courses give youngsters a good grounding for the future.

A Department for Education spokesman said: "The EBacc is a key part of our drive to extend opportunity for all and is already helping children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, to benefit from a rigorous education.

"The most recent performance figures show that more young people than ever are taking the EBacc subjects and the biggest increase has been amongst those with the lowest prior attainment.

"We expect all schools to offer options outside the EBacc, so that pupils have the opportunity to study subjects that reflect their own individual interests and strengths."