'I could hear my dead mum celebrating with me when I opened my A-level results'
A record number of students today celebrated top A-level results across the country - with a new milestone hit for A & A* achievements.
But education leaders warned of stark divides in results between different areas of the country. The regional gap widened from 7.4 percentage points to 9.2, with 32.1% of kids in London getting top grades compared to 22.9% in the north-east of England.
On average across the UK, 28.3% of entries were awarded either an A or A*, up from 27.8% in 2024 and above 25.4% in 2019. This is the highest proportion on record outside the pandemic-affected years of 2020-22- when the figure peaked at 44.8% in 2021. It comes after Gordon Brown blasted the return of 'poverty of 60 years ago' as he makes one big demand.
Boys took a lead over girls in the top grades for the first time since 2018, with 28.4% of boys' A-level entries scoring an A or A* this summer, compared to 28.2% of their female classmates' entries.
One happy sixth-form student said she had kept a promise she made to her mum before she died by getting a place at Oxford University. Gabrielle Morgan, 18, who is from Newcastle and who achieved straight A*s in English literature, Spanish and chemistry, said: "I could practically hear her celebrating with me when the offer came through. I know just how proud of me she is and I know she helped a lot, even though she wasn't here physically." Her mum, who moved from Malaysia to the UK in her early 20s, died from lung cancer in April last year.
Elsewhere Meghan Cotty, 18, from Caerphilly, celebrated two A*s and a B, which got her into the University of Birmingham to study law with business. Megan, who balanced her studies alongside working as a part-time carer, told the BBC: 'It's taken a lot of work and patience but I'm so glad it paid off. I want to be a solicitor so it's a stepping stone to get that. I am just so glad my hard work paid off.'
Sam Perret, 18, from Staffordshire, received better results than he thought he would get with his A*AA. He spent 45 minutes on the phone with three universities as he went through clearing but in the end stuck with Loughborough University to study economics. He told the BBC he was going 'straight to the pub' to celebrate.
Ucas said a record 439,180 applicants have gained a place at university or college - up 3.1% on last year. The number of T-level entries has increased by 61.4% on last year, while the number of A-level entries has fallen by 0.5% compared to 2024.
T-levels are two-year courses, which are broadly equivalent to three A-levels, focus on more vocational subjects and offer a mix of classroom learning and industry placements.
While the number of T-level entries soared, stats showed more than a quarter of students in England who started T-level courses did not complete them this summer. However the overall drop-out rate has fallen, with 73% completing the technical qualifications this summer, up on last year's 71%.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson branded yesterday a "day of celebration" for young people who have worked hard and got the results they wanted.
She said: "My message to young people is that if you've got what you've needed to move on to the next step in your journey, that's fantastic. But if you haven't there's lots of support and advice that's available, either from your school or college, but also through Ucas.'
She added that the "entrenched divide" in outcomes and the lack of progress for white working-class children is "concerning".
Jill Duffy, chairwoman of JCQ board of directors and chief executive of the OCR exam board, said: "Regional inequalities are getting worse, not better. The gap at top grades (A*-A) has grown again. London is once again the top performing region and is now 9.2 percentage points ahead of the North East." She added: "These regional inequalities need more attention."
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