SCHOOLS in Barnsley celebrated their best ever GCSE results yesterday - but there is confusion about what they actually mean.

Criticism has been heaped on the education system for failing to produce youngsters with the skills needed to get a job.

More Barnsley youngsters than ever hit the national target of achieving five A* to C grades with 49 per cent of Barnsley kids reaching that level or higher.

Willowgarth High at Grimethorpe had more reason to celebrate than most, with 67 per cent of pupils getting the magical five A*-C passes.

But the change in fortune also highlights the vagaries of the exam system which has left businesses wondering what the qualifications are worth - and why youngsters lack basic skills.

Two of the school’s pupils apparently achieved 20 GCSEs and two got 19 - but a breakdown of those results reveals many of the ‘GCSEs’ are actually vocational qualifications, including BTECs and NVQs, worth as much as four GCSEs.

David Longley, policy manager of the Barnsley Chamber of Commerce, said: “Our members are still telling us the education system is not meeting their needs.”

But Barnsley’s director of education, Edna Sutton, defended the system. “I appreciate that businesses need greater clarity but the quality, or weight, of the vocational qualifications is absolutely equivalent to GCSEs.”