The highest ever proportion of A-level entries received the top grade of an A* this year.
This year, calculated results saw 9 per cent of entries awarded the top grade, marking an increase of 1.2 percentage points since 2019 when it dipped to a six-year low, with just 7.8 per cent of entries scored an A*.
The proportion of entries with an A or A* was also at a record high of 27.9 per cent.
A level results 2020:
This year’s results represent the highest proportion of entries awarded the top grade since the A* at A level was introduced in 2010.
A similar pattern was seen for entries scoring an A grade or above. Whereas in 2019 this dipped to 25.5 per cent of entries, this year, 27.9 per cent of entries were awarded an A or A* grade - an increase of 2.4 percentage points since 2019‘s dip in performance.
Results are more comparable with 2018, when 26.4 per cent of candidates achieved an A grade or better.
However, 2020 still marks the highest proportion of students achieving the top two grades since 2010.
This year, following the coronavirus cancellation of exams, grades were calculated for students based on pupils’ prior attainment, the historic performance of their school and teachers’ assessment of what students would have achieved had they sat the exams.
The pass rate this year of grades awarded A*-E was 98.3 per cent, up 0.7 percentage points from the previous year.
Entries at 18 on the rise
Entry levels from 18-year-old candidates continued to grow, accounting for 90.9 per cent of all entries - up from 88.8 per cent last year.
There was a decline in the number of entries from candidates aged 19 or over by 21.5 per cent. This may have been caused by native speakers in modern foreign language courses being unable to have teacher-assessed grades or a rank order assigned to them this year.
Overall, entries were down by 3.1 per cent this year, but there has been a corresponding reduction in the size of the 18-year-old population.
