The proportion of those from African-Caribbean families who scored at least five A* to C grades at GCSE - the standard measure of attainment at the end of compulsory schooling - fell to 36% in 2002 from 39% in 2000.

It had been rising - from 23% in 1996 and 29% in 1998. Back in 1989 it was 18%.

About half of black students got eight top grades, compared with two thirds of all other ethnic groups.

Ethnic breakdown

The published GCSE results are not broken down by ethnicity - these findings are from the ongoing official Youth Cohort Study, based on a representative sample of 30,000 teenagers in England and Wales.

% OF ETHNIC GROUPS GETTING FIVE OR MORE GOOD GCSEs White: 52% Black: 36% Asian: 52% - Indian: 60% - Pakistani: 40% - Bangladeshi: 41% - Other Asian: 64% Other group: 53% Not stated: 30% Source: Youth Cohort Study

Just over half of them responded to the question about GCSE results.

Those getting five or more top gradescontinued to rise in 2002 for white and Asian groups (both now 52%), Pakistani and Bangladeshi (40% and 41%).

The proportion of Indian students getting five or more top grades was 60%, as in 2000.

In 2001 the then education secretary, David Blunkett, began a �1.5m drive to improve exam results achieved by black and Asian pupils.

He urged parents of under-achieving ethnic minority pupils to get more involved in their children's education.

'No complacency'

The evidence suggests that parents' occupations and educational achievement are key factors in how well their children do.

In the latest survey, young people with parents in "higher professional" jobs were most likely to achieve the best grades - 81%, compared with 32% for those in "routine" occupations.

Just 40% of young people whose parents were not qualified to at least A-level standard got five or more top GCSEs last year, compared to 60% whose parents had A-levels and 71% whose parents had degrees.

A spokeswoman for the Department for Education and Skills said on Thursday: "We recognise there is no room for complacency while pupils from Pakistani, Bangladeshi and African-Caribbean backgrounds are still performing significantly less well than others.

"The department is developing for consultation in the spring proposals for a joined-up approach to raising achievement of minority ethnic pupils."

The strategy document was expected to be published next month.

Last March - spurred on by a conference organised by Labour MP Diane Abbott - the department said it was setting up a taskforce to do something about black underachievement.

Volunteer effort

The Commission for Racial Equality said a range of factors was involved.

"Whilst in some cases, peer pressure may be a contributory factor, it is also clear that the actions of teachers and schools have a significant impact on the achievement of black pupils."

Conservative education spokesman Damian Green said it was clear that too many African-Caribbean children were being turned off by school altogether.

He said a lot could be learned from the successful efforts of church and voluntary groups such as Black Boys Can, who did create an enthusiasm for learning among African-Caribbean youngsters.

Black Boys Can is a Birmingham-based group of successful black people seeking to raise the aspirations of youngsters in their community.

Post-16 study

The youth survey also showed that 71% of 16 year olds were in full-time education, with 9% in government-supported training and a further 9% in employment.

Female 16 year olds were more likely than males to be in full-time education at 16, whereas male 16 year olds were more likely to be in either government-supported training or a full-time job.

The survey of 18 year olds alarmed the Liberal Democrat spokesman, Phil Willis.

More than half of young people without five GCSEs had ended up without education, employment or training, he said.

"Children who slip through the net at 16 find themselves isolated by the education system and alienated from job opportunities.

"It is distressing that in modern Britain only one fifth of young people with unskilled parents gained A-levels by age 18 compared to two thirds of those children with parents in higher professional occupations."

Until that situation improved, the government's proposed access regulator for universities was pointless, he added.