A Level Results Day: How Did Pupils Perform?

15 August 2019, 10:20

As 300,000 A Level students received their exam results today, figures show top grades have dipped to their lowest level since 2007.

Fewer top grades

The proportion of A-level entries awarded an A grade or higher has fallen to its lowest level for more than a decade.

25.5% of UK entries were awarded an A or A* grade this summer, compared to 26.4% in 2018.

It's the lowest proportion since 2007 when it was 25.3%.

Girls are marginally back in front in terms of top grades, with 25.5% of entries handed at least an A, compared with 25.4% of boys - a gap of 0.1 percentage points.

But on A* grades alone, boys performed better, with 8.2% of entries getting the highest result, compared with 7.5% of girls' entries.

The overall pass rate remains the same as last year at 97.6% for students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

More girls taking science subjects

For the first time, there were more entries for science subjects from girls than boys.

The shift comes after a major push in recent years to encourage girls to study science and maths-based subjects.

Spanish has become the most popular foreign language at A-level, overtaking French for the first time.

Fewer UK students accepted at university

Fewer students have been accepted on to UK degree courses this year, UCAS figures show.

A total of 408,960 people, from the UK and overseas, have had places confirmed, down 1% on the same point last year, according to data published by the university admissions service.

A record 7,960 students have found places through clearing so far this year.

Rise in places for international students

A record 33,630 international (non-EU) students secured places at UK universities.

There was a 32% rise in accepted Chinese applicants.

There has also been a small increase in the number of EU students accepted on to UK degree courses, with 26,440 confirmed so far.