The number of high school students repeating a year because they failed to pass key exams has risen slightly after years of decline, according to education ministry figures.

In total, 5.7% of secondary school pupils either failed their exams or had to repeat a year. Five years ago the figure was 6.5% but it had fallen to 5.4% in 2015

The upturn is due to ambitious pupils struggling in streams which are too academic for them, experts told the AD. ‘Many pupils are opting to try and reach a higher level because moving down a stream is seen as failure,’ spokeswoman Tea Jonkman said.

Last year 54,720 secondary school pupils ended up failing their exams or repeating a year but the figure would have been higher if parents had not invested heavily in extra coaching and summer schools. Some 80% of pupils who get extra help go on to pass exams at retakes.

In particular, there was a sharp rise in the number of fourth-year havo pupils repeating a year. Almost 14% of them take year four – the year before their final exams – for a second time. A havo certificate allows pupils to go to an hbo college.

The government had set a target of reducing the number of repeat years to 3.8% of the total school population by 2020.