Biggest ever drop in top A-level grades as Covid generation battles for university places

18 August 2022, 01:54 | Updated: 18 August 2022, 10:29

This year’s A-level results day saw the biggest ever drop in top grades after students took exams for the first time for three years.

Top grades are almost a fifth lower than last year and many now face a scramble to get university places through a fiercely competitive clearing process.

Hundreds of thousands of pupils across England, Wales and Northern Ireland got results on Thursday, having sat exams for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak.

Grades had been expected to drop back from 2021 levels - when pupils were assessed by their teachers - as part of a transition year which saw marks aiming to reflect a midway point between last year and 2019.

Confetti released at Burnley College as students get A-level results

36.4 per cent of A-levels were awarded an A or A* – a drop of 8.4 percentage points compared to last year when grades were decided by teacher assessment.

But, this year’s grades are still higher than in 2019, the last year that students took exams.

Kath Thomas, interim chief executive of the JCQ, said the results "represent a huge milestone" in the country's recovery from the pandemic.

Congratulating students, she said: "Not only is it the culmination of two years of hard work, but these students are the first to have taken formal summer exams in three years, so we should all celebrate this achievement.

"Exams are the fairest way to assess students, as they give everyone the chance to show what they know.

"Today's results therefore represent a huge milestone in our recovery from the pandemic and are testament to the diligence and resilience of young people and school staff across the country.

"As intended, these results are higher than the last set of summer exams in 2019, but lower than last year's teacher-assessed grades.

"This reflects the special arrangements that were put in place to support students, schools and colleges through another challenging year due to Covid."

Ucas chief executive Clare Marchant said the government's policy of lowering grade inflation so that results return to pre-lockdown levels was necessary.

According to The Guardian, Ms Marchant told attendees at a webinar hosted by the Higher Education Policy Institute: "A return to either an intermediary position or, as Ofqual said, a midpoint, was never going to be pain-free."

She said that applicants for the most popular courses such as medicine and dentistry will likely be affected the most.

Unfortunately, those who need to search for alternative courses and university places have been struck with another blow as the number of clearing spaces has dropped too.

Clearing is the process in which empty spaces on university courses are matched to applicants who have not met the terms of their offer.

Leading Russell Group universities have been far more cautious with their offers this year.

Last night they were advertising only a third of the number of courses through clearing than they were in 2019, according to the Times.

But head of Ofqual Jo Saxton said exams were necessary because teenagers had been desperate to prove themselves.

"I've visited dozens of schools. Students have been very clear that they wanted to sit their exams," she said.

"They spoke about wanting that rite of passage. We have asked exam boards to be more lenient this year, to reflect the disruption."

All students should be proud of their achievements, having dealt with schooling during the pandemic, Education Secretary James Cleverly said.

He said: "Every single student collecting their results today should be proud of their achievements. Not only have they studied throughout the pandemic, but they are the first group in three years to sit exams.

"For that, I want to congratulate them and say a huge thank you to those who helped them get to this point."

Nadhim Zahawi on T Levels

New T-level results will also be received for the first time by around 1,000 students in England on Thursday.

The qualifications, which are broadly equivalent to three A-levels, offer students practical and knowledge-based learning at a school or college and on-the-job experience.

Mr Cleverly assured students that no matter what grades they might get, "there has never been a better range of opportunities available".

He said: "Whether going on to one of our world-leading universities, a high-quality apprenticeship, or the world of work, students have exciting options as they prepare to take their next steps."