A-level top grades reach record high outside of Covid years

South Wales Guardian

2 days ago

Students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland received their exam results on Thursday, with many finding out if they would progress to university, an apprenticeship or work.
More than a quarter (28.3%) of UK entries were awarded an A or A* grade, up by 0.5 percentage points on last year, when 27.8% achieved the top grades.
This was higher than in 2019, the last year that summer exams were taken before the pandemic, when 25.4% of entries were awarded A or A* grades.
It is the highest proportion of entries scoring top grades outside the pandemic-affected years of 2020-22, according to the figures from the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Boys have outperformed girls in terms of top grades for the first time in seven years.
The proportion of UK entries awarded the top A* grade this year has also risen, by 0.1 percentage points to 9.4%, compared to 9.3% in 2024, and it is higher than when it stood at 7.7% in 2019.
The overall pass rate – the proportion of entries graded A* to E – has also risen to 97.5% this year, which is up on last year (97.2%) and the pre-pandemic year of 2019 (97.6%).
Sir Ian Bauckham, chief regulator of Ofqual, England's exams regulator, told the PA news agency that the standard of work required to achieve grades has 'held constant' since 2023.
He said any changes were because a 'smaller, smarter cohort' of students had sat their A-level exams this year compared to previous years.
In an interview with PA about the A-level results, Sir Ian said: 'Students this year have got the grades they deserve, and their grade will hold its value over time because it represents a stable standard of achievement.'
The Covid-19 pandemic led to an increase in top grades in 2020 and 2021, with results based on teacher assessments instead of exams.
This cohort of school and college leavers received their GCSE results in 2023, the first year that grading was returned to pre-pandemic levels in England.
In Wales and Northern Ireland, exam regulators returned to pre-pandemic grading in 2024, a year later than in England.
The Ofqual chief said this year's cohort in England was smaller because 'fewer students met the bar' to begin A-level courses two years ago, when GCSE grading was returned to normal.
Sir Ian added: 'So it is a smaller cohort and, judged in terms of GCSE attainment, it's a higher-achieving cohort than has been the case for the past few years.'
The number of students accepted on to UK degree courses has risen to a record high, Ucas figures show.
For 18-year-olds in the UK, 255,130 applicants have been accepted on to a university or college course – up 4.7% on last year.
Overall, 82% of UK 18-year-old applicants awaiting a decision on results day secured their first choice – which was the same proportion as last year.
In England, 11,909 students received their T-level results in the fourth year that the qualification has been awarded and 91.4% achieved at least a pass.
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.
Overall, 28.4% of boys' A-level entries scored an A* or A this summer, compared to 28.2% of their female classmates' entries – a gap of 0.2 percentage points. The last time boys had a lead was in 2018.
Last year, girls were ahead with 28.0% of entries scoring at least an A, compared to 27.6% of those from boys, the latest figures show.
Students who are receiving their A-level, T-level and Level 3 vocational and technical qualification (VTQ) results were in Year 8 when schools closed because of the pandemic.
Education leaders have warned of 'stark' divides in results between different regions because of the legacy of Covid-19 and socio-economic factors.
The latest Ofqual figures show wide regional differences in outcomes, with the North East the only region in England to see a drop in the proportion of top grades down on last year and 2019.
Chris Zarraga, director of Schools North East, said: 'North East students have done brilliantly again this year, but the structural gap between our region and London has grown yet again. This is not about school quality.
'Every August, our students prove their talent and determination. But we cannot keep pretending the North East–London gap is about standards. It is about deep-rooted structural inequalities that no government has seriously addressed.
'Without urgent, sustained action to tackle them, the gap will keep widening and it will not be because our students or teachers are any less capable.'
Lee Elliot Major, professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter, said: 'These results expose an education system of entrenched regional divides. It is a stark reminder that where you grow up still shapes your life chances.
'Opportunity in Britain today isn't a simple north–south divide — increasingly it's London versus the rest. Once again, the capital has pulled far ahead of most regions in A-level results. It's a stark reminder that while talent is spread evenly across the country, educational opportunity is not.'
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.'
The statistics show interest in A-level maths has soared in the last decade, with entries for the subject up by more than a fifth (21.7%) in the last 10 years.
But there is a clear gender divide, with boys significantly more likely to choose the subject than girls.
There were 70,255 boys' entries for A-level maths this year, compared to 41,883 girls' entries – both up on 2024.
Ms Duffy added: 'There are still significantly fewer girls taking A-level maths, and proportionally there are fewer girls taking the subject than in 2019.'
More than 250,000 Level 3 VTQ results have also been awarded to UK students by the JCQ this year.
On the increase in top A-level grades, Pepe Di'Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: 'This is testament to the hard work of teachers and students in often very challenging circumstances.
'However, we continue to see big differences in attainment between regions, reflecting socioeconomic factors which represent a massive challenge, not only for the education sector but our society as a whole.
'We have to stop merely talking about these issues and actually address them with investment in communities suffering from generational disadvantage.'
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson has said there has been a 'steadying of the ship' after the disruption from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, she said: 'These are young people who have not had disruption in recent times, but have had the full normal assessment process.
'So, this is a normal year, the kind of year that we would have seen before the pandemic hit.'
Scotland has a different qualification system and students received their results on Tuesday last week.
Figures released by the Scottish Qualifications Authority showed 78.4% of those sitting National 5 exams passed with grades A to C – up from 77.2% last year.
For Highers, 75.9% passed with the top bands, up from 74.9% last year, and for Advanced Highers 76.7% of students achieved A to C grades, up from 75.3% last year.