To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many children from an (a) Protestant and (b) Roman Catholic community background left school with fewer than five GCSE qualifications at grades A to C in the last year for which figures are available. (113808)

The requested information relates to the 2004-05 school year and is as follows:

(a) 4,232 (39.3 per cent. of Protestant school leavers)

(b) 4,566 (35.9 per cent. of Roman Catholic school leavers)