The number of students gaining pass grades at A-level has dropped to its lowest point in eight years amid major exam reforms.
This is the second year that students in England have received grades in rigorous reformed A-levels - which have moved away from coursework in favour of final exams after two years.
The overall A* to E pass rate in the UK fell to 97.6 per cent, compared to 97.9 per cent last year, according to figures published by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ).
The proportion of students in the UK who have secured the top grade of A* this year has also dropped from 8.3 per cent to 8 per cent this year - its lowest level since 2013.
However, the number of students awarded an A* or A this summer has increased to 26.4 per cent - the highest proportion for six years.
More than one in four A-levels were awarded an A or A* this year - the highest proportion for six years, national figures show.
It is the second year in a row that the A* to A pass rate has risen.
Boys continue to outperform girls at the highest grades, the figures show, with 26.6 per cent of boys' entries awarded at least an A grade, compared to 26.2 per cent for entries from their female peers.
The statistics also show that STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths) are continuing to rise in popularity.
More than a third (36.2 per cent) of all A-level entries were in these subjects, up from 34.5 per cent last year.
Boys are still more likely to study a STEM subject than girls, but the balance is shifting, JCQ said.
Michael Turner, director general of the JCQ, said: "The overall picture shown by today's results is one of national stability during a period of significant reform.
"Students, and teachers, should be congratulated. They can be confident in their grades, knowing they have achieved in a world-class system that is robust, challenging and fair."
The figures come in the wake of a major exams overhaul - with 24 A-level subjects now reformed.
Grades have been awarded for the first time this summer for new A-levels in languages, geography, dance, drama and theatre, music, PE and religious studies.
They join the 13 A-level subjects for which the first grades were handed out last summer.
Fewer students have been accepted on to UK degree courses this year, initial figures show.
Ucas data shows that 411,860 have taken up places so far, down one per cent on the same point last year.
Damian Hinds, education secretary, said that the redesign of A-levels would make them "more appropriate, better (at) preparing young people for moving on to the next stage", including university.
He told Today: "Having exams at the end of the two years means that it is possible to consider the subject as a whole, to bring in all the different parts of it, to synthesise the different aspects of the subject in a way that is a little closer to undergraduate study."
