THE proportion of A-level entries awarded an A grade or higher has risen to an all-time high after exams were cancelled for the second year in a row due to Covid-19.

Hundreds of thousands of students have been given grades determined by teachers, rather than exams, with pupils only assessed on what they have been taught during the pandemic.

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, figures for England, Wales and Northern Ireland show.

In total, more than two in five (44.8 per cent) of UK entries were awarded an A or A* grade this summer – up by 6.3 percentage points on last year when 38.5 per cent achieved the top grades.

Overall, the proportion of entries awarded the top A* grade this year has surged to 19.1 per cent – the highest proportion since the top grade was first introduced in 2010.

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The figures, published by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ), cover A-level entries from students in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Scottish Highers results are also being released on Tuesday.

Dr Philip Wright, director-general of JCQ, said: “On behalf of JCQ and the exam boards, I would like to congratulate all students receiving their results today.

“The impact of Covid has undoubtedly provided a difficult chapter in their education journey and their resilience is to be applauded. We wish them all the best as they take their next steps in life.

“We would also like to express our sincere thanks to teachers, exams officers, heads of centre and colleagues, who have all worked exceptionally hard to determine grades this summer.

“Teachers used their professional judgment and submitted the grades and evidence in good time for us to check and award grades today. Their efforts will allow students to swiftly progress on to the next stages of their education, training or employment.”

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: “It is important to understand that the system used to assess students this year is different from both formal exams and the approach that was used last year too, when an attempt to use an algorithm to standardise grades nationally went wrong and had to be abandoned.

“It is therefore invidious to make direct comparisons with other years and vital that we celebrate the achievements of this year’s cohort who have had to endure so much over the past 18 months.”

He added: “The majority of university applicants will now go on to their preferred university, and those who have missed grades and go through the clearing process will receive support from universities, schools and colleges to find a course which fulfils their aspirations.

“It will be important that universities provide educational and pastoral support to their new undergraduates given the extreme disruption they have faced during the course of the pandemic, and we are sure this is fully understood already.”