The exam statistics are based on results from 2006

But the statistics published on Thursday also showed primary school pupils in Wales were outperforming English children in all subjects.

The Conservatives said the figures showed more work needed to be done.

In Wales, 54% of pupils gained five A*-C grades at GCSEs in 2006, compared with 59% in England.

There is also a higher proportion of pupils in Wales not achieving any GCSE or GNVQ passes than in England.

The nation's seven-to-11-year-olds are performing better than children in England in all subjects and especially when it comes to maths. The figures show 81% achieved the expected level compared with 78% in England.

The report says amongst 11-14-year-olds, Welsh pupils were also doing slightly better in science, but worse in English and maths.

When it comes to the youngest children, the statistics show that reading results for three-to-seven-year-olds, were lower than every part of England except London. In writing, children in Wales achieved slightly lower results than those across the border.

The report also found that more Welsh teenagers were leaving school at 16 without any qualifications at GCSE or GNVQ level than those in England.

'Worrying'

A Welsh Assembly Government spokesperson said we should "always be cautious when making comparisons", with some differences in data between Wales and England and also that deprivation levels were not accounted for.

"We would not want to be 'league tabled' with our UK counterparts but of course we must look beyond our own borders to challenge what we are doing and identify how we might do better," said the spokesperson.

"It is for that very reason that we participated in the Pisa international assessment exercise for the first time last year and intend to continue to participate in international assessment projects in the future."

Conservative education spokesman Alun Cairns said there were "some encouraging signs in these figures".

"There is clearly much work to be done if pupils in Wales are to meet the standards achieved by their counterparts in England," he said.

"It is particularly worrying that a higher percentage of Welsh pupils failed to achieve any GCSE or GNVQ passes than those in England, and that there is a wide gap between those achieving five or more top grades.