London on Thursday overtook the South-East as the best performing region in the country for A-level results.
The capital saw 31.3 per cent of students awarded an A* or A this year — up 1.3 percentage points on 2023. Some 30.8 per cent scored the top grades in the South-East — a rise of 0.5 percentage points.
Pupils across the capital were celebrating their record results as the proportion of A-level entries awarded the top grades also rose across the country compared with last year and remained above pre-pandemic levels.
A fall back to 2019 levels had been predicted. Every region of England also saw a year-on-year increase in the overall proportion of A-levels awarded, Thursday’s figures show, as well as a higher proportion of A* or A grades than in the pre-pandemic year of 2019.
The pandemic led to an increase in top grades in 2020 and 2021, with results based on teacher assessments rather than exams.
The cohort of students who received their results on Thursday were in Year 9 when schools were shut due to Covid restrictions and they were the first year group to sit GCSEs after they were cancelled for two years in a row.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson offered her congratulations to students, telling Times Radio: “They’ve been through an awful lot in recent years and they’ve shown tremendous resilience. They’ve had fantastic support from the staff and teachers within their schools and colleges, and it’s a big and exciting day for them.”
The results revealed:
- A total of 4,135 students in England scored three A* grades, according Ofqual figures — up from 3,820 last year and 2,785 in 2019
- Boys pulled further ahead of girls at the top grade this year, with 9.5 per cent of male entries scoring an A* compared with 9.1 per cent of girl entries
- Girls continued to outperform boys at both A* and A combined, but the gender gap has narrowed again
- Maths was the most popular subject for the 11th year in a row and became the first A-level ever to see more than 100,000 students take it with 107,427 entries (up 11 per cent from 96,853 in 2023)
- Psychology remains the second most popular subject. But it had 78,556 entries, down two per cent from 80,493 in 2023
- Biology was once again the third most popular subject, with 74,367 entries, a fall of 0.4 per cent from 74,650
- Further maths saw the largest percentage increase in entries this year, up 20 per cent from 15,080 in 2023 to 18,082 in 2024
- 7,380 students in England received their T-level results in the third year that the trade and business-linked qualifications have been awarded — and 88.7 per cent achieved at least a pass
However they also showed the attainment gap between independent schools and comprehensives in England widened.
Ofqual figures revealed 49.4 per cent of independent school candidates scoring a grade A or above in all subjects, compared with 22.3 per cent for of those at state schools — a gap of 27.1 percentage points.
While the top grades increased, education leaders warned that this cohort of young people has had to overcome a series of challenges — and those from disadvantaged backgrounds have been hit the worst.
Just days before the academic year was due to start last year, a number of schools were forced to offer remote learning when crumbling concrete was found in buildings.
A one-off uplift to exam marks has not been granted to pupils who had their education disrupted by the RAAC crisis despite calls from some MPs and schools and families affected.
Liberal Democrat MP Munira Wilson said: “Every single student should be immensely proud of the results they have received today.
“But there will be thousands of students who will have missed out on the grades they hoped for, including those who have been learning in schools affected by RAAC.
“It is right that the Government begins work immediately to improve school infrastructure throughout the country.
“The regional inequality in results also remains concerning, and the government must ensure every child, no matter their background, is able to fulfil their potential."
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “While the dark days of the pandemic are in the past, its legacy continues to haunt us, as many of these students experienced severe disruption.
“In particular, this impacted upon those from disadvantaged backgrounds whose families were also adversely affected by the subsequent cost-of-living crisis.”
