Age: One year old.
Appearance: Very similar to an A, but with a ★ next to it.
So that's how it's done! I've always wondered. Yes. Clever, isn't it?
Ingenious. But I suppose you do need something a bit special to distinguish that tiny minority of extremely good A-level papers, don't you? That tiny 8%, yes.
What?! Or that tiny 17.9% in private schools.
What?! I know. It's not really all that tiny, is it. That's why so many university courses are starting to insist that all prospective students achieve one.
But they only started awarding A★s in August, 16 years after the grade was first used for GCSEs. True. The problem is that getting a place at a good university has become very competitive. The people who run the most popular courses at Exeter, Bristol, Sussex, UCL, Imperial, Warwick, Oxford and Cambridge need a way to whittle down the pile.
Couldn't they just give preference to left-handed people? They have a terrible time, you know. I think there might be ethical considerations . . .
Perhaps Oxford could have a "limited edition" year when everybody is a Capricorn? Again, that might attract controversy.
Gosh, this is a difficult problem. I know. But that's why A★ was invented, remember. As many as 27% students taking A levels are getting A grades these days.
That is a rather cumbersome elite. It is. And in order to get an A★, a student does have to get 90% in each of their second-year papers.
Wow, 90%! That's bloody impossible! It used to be. Anyway, there's still plenty of good courses out there for people who don't manage it.
Such as Xbox studies at the University of Penge? You're a snob.
I prefer to think of myself as a snob★. I see you as more of a w★★★★★.
Do say: A★ is born.
Don't say: A★★ is next.
