'Smaller, smarter cohort' hit grades high

THE proportion of A-level entries awarded top grades rose again this year, remaining above pre-pandemic highs, national figures show.

- ELEANOR BUSBY, ALISON KERSHAW & IAN JONES

Students received their exam results yesterday, 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.