A-level results day joy as 425,680 students so far get grades good enough to secure them their university places
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The number of students who received top-grade A-level results has risen despite a return to pre-pandemic marking, according to official figures - with hundreds of thousands of youngsters successfully securing a place at university.
Teenagers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have been opening the fateful letters that will determine their future this morning.
The proportion of A-level entries awarded top grades is up on last year and remains above pre-pandemic levels - beating out forecasts that suggested the number of top-level grades may fall after markers returned to pre-pandemic standards.
Exams body Ofqual had said earlier this year it expected 'national results in 2024 to be broadly similar to those seen in 2023' - but more than a quarter, 27.8 per cent, of results were an A or A* grade, up 0.6 per cent on last year.
Admissions body UCAS says 425,680 prospective students have done well enough to make the grades necessary for their conditional university placement offer, up three per cent on last year.
Even those who have held off on making a decision will have an greater chance of going to university with more clearing places available than in the past - almost 27,000 courses, including 3,500 at the top-flight Russell Group institutions.
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This was also higher than in 2019 - the last year that summer exams were taken before the pandemic - when 25.4% of entries were awarded A or A* grades.
Overall, the proportion of UK entries awarded the top A* grade this year has risen by 0.4 percentage points to 9.3%, compared with 8.9% in 2023, and it is higher than when it stood at 7.7% in 2019.
Excluding 2020-2022, the years of the pandemic, this is the highest proportion of A* grades awarded since they were first handed out in 2010.
The latest Ofqual figures show that this summer, 49.4% of independent school candidates scored grade A or above in all subjects, compared with 22.3% of those at comprehensive schools - a gap of 27.1 percentage points.
Youngsters have been breathing sighs of relief this morning after making the mid-holiday trek into school to open the brown envelopes dictating the next steps in their learning.
Student Kitty told BBC Breakfast: 'It was like a weight lifted because I've been waiting all summer to find out how I did and it's been a long time coming.'
Asked if she got any sleep, she said: 'No, not really, I was up like every half hour.'
Twin sisters Nicola and Victoria Tsang, both 17, achieved identical A-level results two years after pulling off the same feat with their GCSEs.
The pair, from Hong Kong, have lived and studied together at Benenden School in Kent since they were 11 and their career paths are also heading in the same direction - they both plan to pursue law degrees, but at different universities.
Victoria is off to Cambridge while Nicola is starting at London School of Economics.
Also among those passing their exams today is a schoolboy believed to be the youngest person ever to pass A level maths with a Grade A* - at the age of 10.
Kautilya Katariya achieved the top grade in the subject - eight years earlier than most students sit their exams.
The boy genius already holds the record for being the youngest qualified computer programmer in the world, which he achieved at just six-years-old.
And then two years later he achieved the highest possible marks in GCSE maths aged eight after teaching himself the subject online during Covid lockdowns.
He said previously: 'I'm feeling good about my achievements and I'm quite proud.'
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In A-levels, boys have pulled further ahead of girls at the top grade this year, with 9.5% of boys' entries scoring an A* compared with 9.1% of girls' entries - a gap of 0.4 percentage points. Last year the gap was 0.3 percentage points.
Boys have traditionally led girls, scoring more A* grades than their female classmates every year between 2012 and 2019. But girls overtook boys between 2020 and 2022 - the years of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Girls continued to outperform boys at A* and A but the gender gap has narrowed again this year.
A total of 4,135 students in England alone scored three A* grades, according to separate figures from Ofqual. This is up from 3,820 last year and 2,785 in 2019.
Another 7,380 students received their vocational T-level results in the third year that the qualification has been awarded - and 88.7% achieved at least a pass.
Around 250,000 results were also issued to students who took level 3 vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) this year.
Ofqual's chief regulator Sir Ian Bauckham told a briefing that standards had been maintained from last year - down to the hard work of pupils alone.
He said: 'There is no grade inflation this year. Standards have been maintained from 2023. Any change is largely due to the ability of the cohort.'
Meanwhile, in what has become an A-level results day tradition, TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson took to social media to remind people how he under-performed in his school exams before going on to success.
He first posted on X, formerly Twitter: 'Morning everyone. Anything going on?'
He then added, in a nod to his previous posts this time each year: 'Don't worry if your A level results aren't what you were hoping for. I got a C and two Us, and here I am, 46 years later, with my own pub. It opens next weekend if you fancy dropping in.'
Meanwhile, TV presenter Jake Humphrey shared a text from his father Rex reminding him that his A-level results hadn't been what he expected.
He said on X: 'It was the love, patience and understanding of my parents that got me through my a-level results day. If someone in your life hasn't got the results they want today, put an arm around and show love. Their future is far from written.'
The Repair Shop presenter Jay Blades, meanwhile, said his daughter Zola had passed her A-levels with 'flying colours'.
Ucas said 82 per cent of all applicants have gained a place at their first choice university or college, an increase from 79 per cent last year.
For 18-year-olds in the UK, 243,650 applicants have been accepted - a six per cent rise.
And the number of 18-year-olds from the most disadvantaged backgrounds in Britain securing places on courses has reached a record high, Ucas said.
Overall, 27,600 of UK 18-year-olds from the most disadvantaged backgrounds have accepted a degree place, up seven per cent on 25,800 last year and above the previous record of 26,650 in 2021.
The number of international students who have been accepted on to courses stands at 51,170, down slightly on 51,210 last year - while accepted applicants from China (10,950) are six per cent lower.
Ucas chief executive Jo Saxton said: 'Today's figures highlight the tenacity and effort from students who have aimed high and are about to embark on their exciting next steps.
'I'm particularly thrilled to see free school meals students securing a place at university or college in record numbers.
'I know how important it is to everyone working in education that every student, no matter their background, has the opportunity to reach their full potential.
'Widening access and participation is not just about numbers - it's about opening up doors and transforming the lives of students through higher education so they can pursue their passions and career aspirations.'
She added that there were almost 30,000 courses available in Ucas clearing. The fight for places is already underway, with the University of Sheffield taking calls from over 500 applicants in two hours on Thursday morning.
Dan Barcroft, Sheffield's director of admissions, said competition for last-minute clearing places was 'fierce'.
Last year, more than a quarter - or 27.2 per cent - of UK A-level entries were awarded A or A* grades, down on 36.4 per cent in 2022.
But it was higher than in 2019 - the last year that summer exams were taken before Covid-19 - when 25.4 per cent of UK A-level entries were given top grades.
Exam regulators have now ditched the Covid-19 pandemic approach which put more weight on teachers' own assessment of their pupils.
Just days before the academic year was due to start last year, a number of schools were forced to offer remote learning when reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) was found in buildings.
Yet a one-off uplift to exam marks has not been granted to all pupils who had their education affected by Raac despite calls from schools and families.
The move to restore pre-pandemic standards comes after Covid-19 led to an increase in top A-level and GCSE grades in 2020 and 2021, with results based on teacher assessments instead of exams.
Leaders in the education sector have warned that this cohort of young people has had to overcome a series of challenges in recent years - and those from disadvantaged backgrounds have been hit the worst.
The batch of students now receiving their A-level results were in Year 9 when schools closed due to the pandemic and were the first year group to sit GCSE exams in 2022 after they were cancelled for two consecutive years.
Lee Elliot Major, professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter, told the PA news agency: 'In many ways this is one of the unluckiest cohorts to emerge in the post-pandemic era - blighted by Covid disruption, a cost-of-living crisis not to mention the national crisis of unfit school buildings, and yet at the same time they have received no compensation or extra support in the exam system.'
Department for Education figures, as of February 8, show 234 education settings in England have been identified as having the collapse-risk concrete in their buildings.
Of these, 94 are listed as secondary or all-through state schools, while 11 are post-16 colleges.
Pepe Di'Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, told PA: 'I really hope that we don't see young people being majorly disadvantaged in Raac schools because it will be a travesty on top of something that has already disadvantaged them and put them in a difficult situation.'
The Joint Council for Qualifications has said schools and colleges can apply for 'special consideration' after today if they feel their results have been affected by Raac disruption during the exam series - such as a 'noisy environment' in the exam hall due to nearby building work.
Mr Di'Iasio added: 'I would welcome anything that allows students to gain recognition for the turbulence and the adversity that they face, be it through Raac or anything else that hasn't been recognised.
'I would hope that university admissions officers, but also schools and colleges and the whole system, make allowances for these young people because young people have had an incredibly traumatic period and they need all the support they can get right now.'
Meanwhile, the Mail can reveal that hundreds of degree courses at top universities are being offered to high-paying international students instead of British applicants.
Analysis shows that pupils collecting their A-level results today will have far fewer options than those applying from abroad when it comes to choosing alternative courses through the Clearing process.
Of the 24 top institutions in the Russell Group, 17 have places available through Clearing – and 11 are offering more courses to those from abroad than to those living here.
As of yesterday morning, Russell Group universities had a total of 4,504 courses available to foreign students, against 3,883 for domestic students – equating to 621 more (16 per cent).
Ahead of today's results, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: 'Young people deserve enormous credit for what they have achieved, in the face of both the huge disruption of recent years, and in too many cases the inequality that goes hand in hand with young people's backgrounds.
'I am determined to break down these barriers to opportunity so every young person can pursue their dreams and thrive.
'I hope young people everywhere can celebrate their results and look forward to their next step - be that university, an apprenticeship or beginning their careers.'
She told Times Radio this morning: 'I do just want to say a huge congratulations to all of those young people.
'They've been through an awful lot in recent years and they've shown tremendous resilience, and 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.'
She added on Sky News that there are 'plenty of opportunities' for youngsters who do not get the results they were hoping for - from clearing to the National Career Service.
T-level results will also be received by thousands of students in England on Thursday, and youngsters across the country will be awarded their level 3 vocational and technical qualification exam results.
Ms Phillipson has said the vocational qualifications are 'here to stay' this morning, telling BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'We need to make them work, and we need to make them work better than has been the case.
'But alongside that, we need to make sure that there are other routes for our young people.
'T-levels won't be the answer, won't be the solution for every young person that is considering a technical or vocational relief.'
Students could face less competition for university places this year due a decline in the proportion of UK school leavers applying to higher education and a fall in overseas demand, education experts have suggested.
As of yesterday afternoon, a PA sample covering 130 of the UK's largest higher education providers showed there were 22,774 courses with vacancies for undergraduate students living in England on the Ucas clearing website.
A similar analysis last year, carried out the day before A-level results day, indicated 22,521 courses with vacancies on the clearing site.
Clearing is available to students who do not meet the conditions of their offer on A-level results day, as well as those who did not receive any offers.
Students who have changed their mind about what or where they wish to study, and also those who have applied outside the normal application window, can also use the process.
Rebecca Montacute, head of research and policy at the Sutton Trust charity, told PA: 'Young people receiving their exam results today have had to overcome many challenges along the way.
'They lost education time due to the pandemic, and those from disadvantaged backgrounds were particularly affected by the loss of in-person teaching, lack of space and a quiet learning environment at home, lack of devices to learn with, and little social interaction with their peers.'
'These issues have been compounded for pupils who experienced further lost learning in schools impacted by the Raac crisis,' she added.
Scotland has a different qualification system and students received their results on Tuesday last week.
Figures released by the Scottish Qualifications Authority showed that 77.2 per cent of those sitting National 5 exams passed with grades A to C - down from 78.8 per cent last year.
For Highers, 74.9 per cent passed with the top bands, a drop from 77.1 per cent last year, and for Advanced Highers 75.3 per cent of students achieved A to C grades as opposed to 79.8 per cent in 2023.
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