A record 44.8% of A-Level grades were A or A*, it has been revealed.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic exams were cancelled for a second year meaning students were handed teacher-assessed grades.
There were huge concerns of inflation but Education secretary, Gavin Williamson said pupils had worked “incredibly hard” for those results.
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In an interview with Good Morning Britain, Mr Williamson said: “This is an exceptional year. It is unlike any other year, and hopefully will be unlike any other year in the future, but I believe this is the right thing for children.
“I do expect to see youngsters getting better grades this year than maybe they have in previous years, but they have worked incredibly hard for those grades, wherever they have been, right across the country, and I think we should be celebrating that, and it gives them the opportunity to take that next step.”
With the rise in A and A* grades universities have warned that clearing could be a lot more competitive.
Girls performed better than boys at the top grades, and female maths students overtook boys for the first time in the number of A* grades achieved, report the Mirror.
The figures, published by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), cover A-level entries from students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Teachers in England submitted their decisions on pupils’ grades after drawing on a range of evidence, including mock exams, coursework, and in-class assessments using questions by exam boards.
According to an analysis by Ofqual, some 6.9 per cent of students in England were awarded three A*s this year – compared with 4.3 per cent in 2020 and 1.6 per cent in 2019.
Last summer, the fiasco around grading led to thousands of A-level students having their results downgraded from school estimates by a controversial algorithm before Ofqual announced a U-turn.
This year, no algorithm was used to moderate grades.
Instead, schools and colleges in England were asked to provide samples of student work to exam boards, as well as evidence used to determine the grades for the students selected, as part of QA checks.
Random and targeted sample checks of evidence were also carried out after grades were submitted.
Ofqual said that student work from 1,101 centres in England – around one in five schools and colleges – was scrutinised by exam boards.
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