Students receive A-level results after facing disruption over pandemic and Raac crisis

15 August 2024, 01:06

Students are receiving their A-level results in a year when young people had their education disrupted by the pandemic and concrete crisis.

Hundreds of thousands of students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are receiving grades to help them progress on to university, an apprenticeship or employment.

Last year, more than a quarter (27.2%) of UK A-level entries were awarded A or A* grades, down on 36.4% in 2022.

But it was higher than in 2019 - the last year that summer exams were taken before Covid - when 25.4% UK A-level entries were awarded top grades.

Just days before the academic year was due to start last year, a number of schools were forced to offer remote learning when reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) was found in buildings.

A one-off uplift to exam marks has not been granted to all pupils who had their education disrupted by Raac, despite calls from schools and families affected.

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In England, exams regulator Ofqual said it expected results to be "broadly similar" to last summer, when grades were brought back in line with pre-pandemic levels.

In Wales and Northern Ireland, exam regulators are aiming to return to pre-pandemic grading this summer - a year later than in England.

The move to restore pre-pandemic standards comes after Covid led to an increase in top A-level and GCSE grades in 2020 and 2021, with results based on teacher assessments instead of exams.

Leaders in the education sector have warned that this cohort of young people has had to overcome a series of challenges in recent years - and those from disadvantaged backgrounds have been hit the worst.

The cohort of students who are receiving their A-level results were in Year 9 when schools closed due to the pandemic, and they were the first year group to sit GCSE exams in 2022 after they were cancelled for two years in a row.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: "Young people deserve enormous credit for what they have achieved, in the face of both the huge disruption of recent years, and in too many cases the inequality that goes hand in hand with young people's backgrounds.

"I am determined to break down these barriers to opportunity so every young person can pursue their dreams and thrive.

"I hope young people everywhere can celebrate their results and look forward to their next step - be that university, an apprenticeship or beginning their careers."

T-level results are also being received by thousands of students in England on Thursday, and youngsters across the country will be awarded their level 3 vocational and technical qualification (VTQ) exam results.

Students could face less competition for university places this year due a decline in the proportion of UK school leavers applying to higher education and a fall in overseas demand.

As of Wednesday afternoon, a sample of 130 of the UK's largest higher education providers showed there were 22,774 courses with vacancies for undergraduate students living in England on the Ucas clearing website.

A similar analysis last year, carried out the day before A-level results day, showed there were 22,521 courses with vacancies on the clearing site.

Clearing is available to students who do not meet the conditions of their offer on A-level results day, as well as those who did not receive any offers.

Students who have changed their mind about what or where they wish to study can also use the process.