The information required to answer the first part of the question is in the following table.
1996-97 2006-07 A* A A* A English Language 1.7 7.4 4,2 12.2 Mathematics 1.5 6.7 4.7 10.9 Notes: 1 The 1996-97 figures relate to pupils aged 15 at the start of the academic year, i.e. 31 August 1996. 2 The 2006-07 figures relate to all pupils at the end of Key Stage 4.
The last academic year O-levels were taken was 1986-87.
O-level results are not available by grade for each subject; results were published giving the number of pupils achieving O-level grades A-G or GSE grade 1. The proportions for 1986-87 are given in the following table as well as the percentage of pupils achieving GCSE grades A-C in 2006-07:
1986-87 2006-07 English Language 46.2% 58.7% Mathematics 37.1% 53.5% Sources: 1. The 1986-87 figures were taken from 'Statistics of Leavers—CSE and GCE—ISSN 0266-2728. 2. The 1996-97 figures were taken from 'Statistics of Education—Public Examinations, GCSE/GNVQ and GCE in England, 1997' - ISBN 0-11-271037-9. 3. The 2006-2007 figures have been derived from the achievement and attainment tables and taken from the revised 2007 SFR, published on 9 January 2008, found at the following link: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000768/index.shtml