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| Record proportion of A-level students get top grades in England | Record proportion of A-level students get top grades in England |
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| Of more than 1.1m entries, 28.2% gained A or A* and 9.4% gained A*, though regional variations remain | Of more than 1.1m entries, 28.2% gained A or A* and 9.4% gained A*, though regional variations remain |
| A-Level results – live updates | |
| Students in England gained record levels of top grades in this year’s A-level exams, driven by young men producing their strongest performances outside the pandemic years. | Students in England gained record levels of top grades in this year’s A-level exams, driven by young men producing their strongest performances outside the pandemic years. |
| Ofqual, the exam regulator for England, shrugged off any suggestions of grade inflation, pointing to the lower proportion of 18-year-olds taking A-levels and saying that fewer low-achieving students had entered. | Ofqual, the exam regulator for England, shrugged off any suggestions of grade inflation, pointing to the lower proportion of 18-year-olds taking A-levels and saying that fewer low-achieving students had entered. |
| Despite the overall improvement, regional variations remain, with students in the West Midlands and north-east England recording lower grades overall than in 2024. The north-east remains the only region of England with average grades below pre-pandemic levels. | Despite the overall improvement, regional variations remain, with students in the West Midlands and north-east England recording lower grades overall than in 2024. The north-east remains the only region of England with average grades below pre-pandemic levels. |
| Among the more than 1.1m entries in England, 28.2% gained an A or A* grade, while 9.4% gained the top A* grade, both higher than in 2024 when 27.6% of entries got A and A*s and 9.3% gained A*s. | Among the more than 1.1m entries in England, 28.2% gained an A or A* grade, while 9.4% gained the top A* grade, both higher than in 2024 when 27.6% of entries got A and A*s and 9.3% gained A*s. |
| Across all students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 28.3% of entries were awarded an A or A* grade, up by 0.5 percentage points on last year. Wales was the only country of the three to see a drop in the proportion of top grades awarded compared with last year, falling from 29.9% to 29.5%. | Across all students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 28.3% of entries were awarded an A or A* grade, up by 0.5 percentage points on last year. Wales was the only country of the three to see a drop in the proportion of top grades awarded compared with last year, falling from 29.9% to 29.5%. |
| Other than in 2020, 2021 and 2022, when awards were affected by changes to assessments caused by Covid-19, the proportion of top grades in England was higher than any year since the A* grade was introduced in 2010, and before that going back to 2001. | Other than in 2020, 2021 and 2022, when awards were affected by changes to assessments caused by Covid-19, the proportion of top grades in England was higher than any year since the A* grade was introduced in 2010, and before that going back to 2001. |
| Ian Bauckham, Ofqual’s chief regulator responsible for England’s results, said: “Standards have been maintained for another year, with grades determined by students’ performance in exams using exam boards’ strict marking and grading processes.” | Ian Bauckham, Ofqual’s chief regulator responsible for England’s results, said: “Standards have been maintained for another year, with grades determined by students’ performance in exams using exam boards’ strict marking and grading processes.” |
| Bauckham noted that the number of entries were down compared with last year, despite the increased numbers of 18-year-olds in the population, and said a “smaller, smarter cohort” was taking A-levels this year. | Bauckham noted that the number of entries were down compared with last year, despite the increased numbers of 18-year-olds in the population, and said a “smaller, smarter cohort” was taking A-levels this year. |
| “This may be a sign that young people are making different choices about what types of qualification suit them, which then has an impact on A-level outcomes,” Bauckham said. | “This may be a sign that young people are making different choices about what types of qualification suit them, which then has an impact on A-level outcomes,” Bauckham said. |
| Young men outpaced women in the proportion of entries with the two top grades, with 28.4% compared with 28% for women in England, reversing the positions of previous years. The improved performance – which belies recent complaints of boys being “left behind” by the school system – was more extreme among sixth-formers, where 9.9% of entries by young men gained A*s compared with 9.1* for women. | Young men outpaced women in the proportion of entries with the two top grades, with 28.4% compared with 28% for women in England, reversing the positions of previous years. The improved performance – which belies recent complaints of boys being “left behind” by the school system – was more extreme among sixth-formers, where 9.9% of entries by young men gained A*s compared with 9.1* for women. |
| The gap between the highest- and lowest-performing regions widened further, with 32.1% of entries in London gaining A*-A, compared with 22.9% in north-east England. | The gap between the highest- and lowest-performing regions widened further, with 32.1% of entries in London gaining A*-A, compared with 22.9% in north-east England. |
| Jill Duffy, the chief executive of the OCR examination 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. | Jill Duffy, the chief executive of the OCR examination 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. |
| “The north-east is the only region in England where the proportion of A* and A grades is down on both last year and 2019. The picture is slightly brighter at A*-C, with a smaller gap between regions. These regional inequalities need more attention.” | “The north-east is the only region in England where the proportion of A* and A grades is down on both last year and 2019. The picture is slightly brighter at A*-C, with a smaller gap between regions. These regional inequalities need more attention.” |
| The Ucas university admissions administrator said record numbers of 18-year-olds in the UK got a place at university or college for this autumn. The A-level, BTec and T-level results showed 255,130 had been accepted, compared to 243,650 in 2024, a rise of 4.7%. | The Ucas university admissions administrator said record numbers of 18-year-olds in the UK got a place at university or college for this autumn. The A-level, BTec and T-level results showed 255,130 had been accepted, compared to 243,650 in 2024, a rise of 4.7%. |