Crackdown on A-level grade inflation fails as top results hit record high

Telegraph

3 days ago

Top A-level grades have reached a record high this year despite attempts to curb grade inflation.
Pupils across the UK surpassed last year's surprise uptick in A*s and As and saw the share of top grades climb to 28.3 per cent – up from 27.8 per cent in 2024. It marks a new record for a non-pandemic year and will prompt concerns that grade inflation has become baked into the system.
Ofqual, the exams regulator in England, insisted the bumper results were because of a 'strong' cohort rather than more generous grade boundaries. Boys outperformed girls to take the lion's share of high marks for just the third time in recent decades.
The overall proportion of A*s rose slightly to 9.4 per cent this summer – the highest since the starred grade was introduced in 2010, outside of pandemic disruption. The rise comes despite Ofqual previously saying it hoped to squeeze the proportion of top grades back to the 2019 rate of around 25.5 per cent.
The overall number of entries receiving top grades rose only slightly by roughly 3,000 this year, although fewer candidates sitting exams meant the proportion of A*s and As was greater.
The surprise increase will provide a welcome boost for cash-strapped universities looking to fill seats this year amid financial woes. UCAS, the university admissions service, said on Thursday that a record number of applicants have been accepted onto their first-choice degree this year, with figures up 3.1 per cent compared to 2024.
Jo Saxton, the head of UCAS, stressed earlier this week that the cohort would want universities to 'respect and understand the context in which they've come through'.
However, the boost in A-level results could soon mean that three in 10 sixth-formers will receive the top two possible grades in years to come if the current trend continues.
The Department for Education (DfE) hit back at forecasts reported over the weekend that grade inflation was likely to return this year, stating that the claims were 'completely false'.
Sir Ian Bauckham, the chief executive of Ofqual, said on Thursday: 'Standards have been maintained for another year, with grades determined by students' performance in exams using exam boards' strict marking and grading processes.'
In a press conference on Thursday, Sir Ian added that tougher GCSE grading in 2023 meant this year's cohort were more selective with their A-level subject choices and likely to have picked subjects they knew they would do well in. He added that 18-year-olds who performed poorly in their GCSEs may not have got onto A-level courses and that this was reflected in a slight decrease in the number of entries this year.
Overall A-level entries dipped slightly to 882,509 from last year's 886,514 despite an increase in the number of 18-year-olds in 2025.
Sir Ian added: 'The value of the A*, what it stands for… is directly comparable with previous years, 2024 [and] 2023.'
However, it will still prompt debate over whether Ofqual is functioning as intended after the organisation was launched in 2010 to stamp out creeping grade inflation.
In the 24 years until Ofqual came into force the proportion of A grades nearly trebled and prompted the exams regulator to introduce the A* grade at A-level in 2010 to distinguish the very best students.
The rate of A*s handed out had been steadily declining since then until this trend was suddenly reversed during the pandemic.
Top grades surged in 2020 and 2021, when formal exams ground to a halt during Covid lockdowns and were temporarily replaced with more generous teacher assessments.
Boys overtake girls
This year marked a reversal of the stable trend of girls outperforming their male peers in recent years.
In total, 28.4 per cent of boys opened their A-level results this morning to find the highest two grades, compared to 28.2 per cent of girls.
The only other two years when boys received the greater share of A*s and As in modern record was in 2017 and 2018, with girls then leaping ahead when exams were temporarily switched for teacher assessments during the pandemic.
Just under half of all UK candidates received Bs and Cs in this year's A-levels, putting them in good stead for finding a university place despite not achieving top marks.
Universities are expected to open their doors to school leavers who narrowly miss out on their offer conditions this summer as many institutions grapple with a worsening financial crisis.
This year's sixth-formers, who were 13 when the pandemic hit, had their GCSEs marked more harshly than their predecessors as part of efforts to weed out Covid-related grade inflation.
Arts surge while stem dips
Maths, psychology and biology remained the most popular A-level subjects this year, although of these only maths saw an increase in entries.
Career-oriented subjects such as economics and business studies recorded some of the biggest jumps in popularity.
But it was art and design subjects that had the highest increase in top grades, rising 3.5 per cent this year, tailed by media studies, English language and computing.
The increase follows some concerns that students may be using AI tools such as ChatGPT for coursework-heavy subjects.
By contrast, several major Stem subjects saw slight falls in top grades, with maths down 0.3 percentage points this year, chemistry down 0.1 points, and further maths down 0.2 points.