Record year for A-levels

Not only has the overall pass rate increased since last year, but the proportion of pupils achieving top grades has also gone up.

In the past decade results have risen by almost ten per cent, and the number of pupils getting grades A-C has increased by nearly 20 per cent. 

Children’s Secretary Ed Balls congratulated students on their results and said he hoped that the formation of the new independent standards regulator, Ofqual, would put an end to claims that improved A-level results mean the tests are getting easier.

Christine Blower, acting general secretary of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) also claimed the debate about the dumbing down of exams is pointless.

She said: “What rankles with the NUT are the sustained attempts by commentators to denigrate such concrete achievements, and argue that A-levels are now 'easier'. This is too often built on a lack of any real evidence, and seeks only to undermine the success story.”